The Douglas fir is actually a pine.

1 hour ago, CarlHoliday said:

And I didn't think winter plant identification class would ever have a use.

Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) can be found from the Pacific coast to the Rocky Mountains and from Alaska to Oaxaca, Mexico. It comes in three varieties: coast Douglas-fir (var. menziesii), Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir (var. glauca), and Mexican Douglas-fir (var. lindleyana).

Its genus (Pseudotsuga) means false hemlock (genus Tsuga). Despite its common name Douglas fir it is not a true fir (genus Abies), a spruce (genus Picea), or pine (genus Pinus).

We have a pair of Douglas firs on the shore of the creek. Every time a remnant of an east Pacific hurricane works its way up the coast we worry whether a strong gust of wind will knock over one or both of them.

It is in the Pinaceae family and thus it is a pine.

36 minutes ago, CarlHoliday said:

In the same sense that Humans are in the Homindae family known as the Great Apes.

The link between the species is much more apparent in some individuals than others.