About this Guide

This guide will help you identify the conifers of the Pacific Northwest, native to the states of Oregon and Washington. The guide also includes trees in the Idaho Panhandle. 

It's easier to identify trees if we can focus on those native to a specific area. If we narrow the scope even more to just the conifers of northwest Oregon and western Washington, about 20 species are native to the area. Since different conifers live at different elevations, we can also use elevation to narrow the choice of conifers native to a given area. For example, only a few species grow at elevations below 2000 feet, and it is easy to identify each. This guide is organized to help you identify conifers by presenting them by area and elevation and showing photos and simple descriptions of identifying features for each conifer native to that zone. Alternatively, you can navigate to any northwest conifer from the All Conifers page or find an individual conifer in the Index.

Subalpine conifers on Mt. Hood

About Conifer Names

Common names:  Like most plants, conifers have names that are determined by common usage. Sometimes a conifer will have several common names used in different regions. Common names can also be misleading. The Douglas fir is not a true fir, and none of the native trees called cedar are true cedars. 

Scientific names: Each conifer species also has a scientific name. Why learn the scientific name? These names give you an unambiguous way to identify a species. These names are assigned and agreed to by botanists based on rigorous classification of each plant. Each species is assigned to a general grouping or genus and given a unique species name. The names are usually Latin or at least given a Latin ending. The name for a species is written in italics as Genus species with the genus name capitalized. For example the scientific name of grand fir is Abies grandis. This name is universal throughout the world, no matter what language is spoken. 

As a practical matter, knowing the scientific name usually tells you something about the tree. For example, the name of western hemlock is Tsuga heterophylla. Tsuga is Japanese for hemlock. And heterophylla means variable leaves, which aptly describes western hemlock needles. Also, if you want to learn more about a tree, it helps to know the scientific name. Much of the scientific literature will refer to it by the scientific name. Familiarity with these names will prevent a lot of confusion and consternation. Of course, that's not to say that there's no confusion with scientific names. They may change. Science is not static. As botanists learn more about a tree, they may change its classification to a different genus. These changes generally generate a lot of discussion among the experts and confusion for the rest of us. Such a discussion has been raging about the classification of Alaska cedar. It was in the genus Chamaecyparis. Recently someone proposed putting it in a new genus called Xanthocyparis. Others have countered, saying it should be classified as Callitropsis, Cupressus or Hesperocyparis. Botanists had a terrible time classifying Douglas fir. Its name changed 21 times before they finally settled on Pseudotsuga menziesii.

About the Author

Text and photos in this guide are by Ken Denniston, who lives in Hillsboro, Oregon. He has hiked the woods of the Northwest for over 50 years, and slowly became acquainted with the magnificent conifers of the region. At the same time, he pursued educational goals, starting at Oregon State University and finally receiving a Ph.D in Philosophy at the University of Oregon. What opportunities are open to someone with such an education? Well, the obvious opportunity would be teaching philosophy, which he did for several years. Then he saw a better opportunity writing documentation for computer products, translating geeky technical jargon into language that ordinary people can understand. This guide is a similar attempt to present information in a form that is easy to access and understand. But first it was back to school at Oregon State University to complete their Oregon Master Naturalist program. Now he volunteers at Hoyt Arboretum and maintains this Website on native conifers. No technology needed except what you are using to read this. Contact Info: ken.denniston@gmail.com.