Trees that Mushrooms Love: Douglas-Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

This video is a bit of a departure from the usually strictly mushroom videos here on mushroom wonderland, but very much needed information for mushroom foragers here in the PNW because for most of the delicious wild edible mushrooms growing here you'll need to find these trees to find these fungi. Luckily these trees, the Douglas-Fir, dominate the forest canopy here and give the Pacific Northwest its unique look from above, where the land from mountains to sea are blanketed in this huge and beautiful conifer.
This tree is in a genus of its own, Pseudotsudga- whichg means false hemlock, because it really doesn't fit in any other genus. Its soft 1" needles surrounding the branch like a bottle brush, its reddish buds at the tips of its branches, the hanging cones that fall from the tree, and its ultra thick, fire resistant bark makes it worthy of its own video.
These trees have ectomycorrhizal connections to thousands of mushrooms, meaning in order to find the shrooms, you have to be able to identify these trees. Hopefully you'll know all about them after this video!
Thanks for subscribing to Mushroom Wonderland!!

[@alysoncarbary2020]

Thanks for your message about preserving our mighty and majestic PNW trees. 💚👌🏼

[@ASMRGRATITUDE]

What a great explanation. I'm just a beginner with tree identification but the mice and fire story will really help my memory.

[@roberthartwein9149]

Excellent work Aaron. You did well at explaining the life history and intrinsic values of our PNW forests and tree species!

[@VinInTheGarden]

This video rules! I have been trying to study the trees recently to get better at identification. I would love to see more about the trees around the PNW and the mushrooms that grow under or on them

[@Nicole-ww4lg]

Tree ID vids...just what I wanted! 🤣

[@lovethemack]

super interesting! and my favorite mouse story lol I show that trick often to new foragers

[@jeffgardner9006]

That was really informative Aaron. Looking forward to your next tree ID video

[@kdavis4910]

That's quite the achievement Aaron, becoming vp of the mycosociety in the PNW. There had to have been competition for that position. Congratulations. I have a brother named Aaron. It's a dream to mushroom hunt in the PNW before I die. How very cool the number of mushroom species that grow.

[@MATTdotBranc]

Love these videos, thank you

[@barrysmith8193]

Excellent informative and visual resource video. Thanks for posting.

[@michaelkozak7295]

Excellent video. You've done it. Thank you.. also I have all the alerts on never got a notification. 3 days later.. again thank you for your attention 🙏 found this video by browsing

[@kimprocarione5473]

I love rhis video! I learned soooooo much! The isea of tree identification videos is brilliant! Thank you so much!

[@erinobrien8408]

Thank you so much for making this video!! I haven't lived in W. WA State for very long. I've purchased lots of books on the flora of our region but none of them explained identifying the Douglas Fir as well as you!! The Native American story you told is great for remembering the cone of the Doug fir!

[@FPSproductionsDff]

Great video and very useful too. I would like to see more plant and tree identification videos. It really helps supplement the mushroom content. Keep it up. This channel is going to grow.

[@xenocampanoli815]

I wish someone would do a video about how our climax vegetation forests in many Puget Sound Region situations are younger Western Hemlock dominated forests, not Douglas Fir forests, due to the shade tolerance aspects of the various trees. I also wish there was more popular literature on other trees like Sitka Spruce, Pacific Yew, Grand Fir, Red Alder, Scouler Willow and Black Cottonwood, all of which are large vital parts of our forest ecosystems. It is an interesting aspect of all this that old growth is not necessarily climax vegetation, and that healthy forests are very diverse involving hundreds of plants and many different states of progression.

[@donnacovel4460]

Aaron,Thank you for sharing your knowledge.Where I live is surrounded by old growth forest no Douglas for but hemlock pines oak maples ECT. Keep teaching us you're doing a fantastic job!!🙏💚

[@davidvaughn7752]

Cool! Thank you! Appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Your winter series really opened my eyes and been having fun here in N. Cascades this winter stomping around looking for some of the tells you have shared as I'm used to spring and summer foraging.

[@treehuggingbuddhist]

we are fortunate to be the caretakers of 20 acres of old and mixed growth forest that has been protected by a land trust since the 1970’s. Mostly Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar (which is not a true cedar?) with some maple and alder on the perimeters. We are thoroughly enjoying your channel and the information you provide for us newbie mycologists. Keep up the good work!

[@sk8ordie96800]

Wow that sounds like a dream to have access to that kind of beautiful property.

[@treehuggingbuddhist]

@@sk8ordie96800 it is! we are so blessed to have it as our “backyard” and to be able to contribute to its conservation.

[@sk8ordie96800]

@@treehuggingbuddhist I’m located in the same area that would be such a privilege to come explore there one day! God bless 🤙❤️

[@bassterlo]

I love your educational videos! The production quality has gone up a lot recently! Keep it up Aaron!

[@tyesenberg9859]

great video! love the lore and the base understanding so integral to being able to have a deeper ability to know what to look for and make these associations to what we're after out here! very grateful for this type of knowledge

[@alexmedeiros9306]

Please! More of these! My wife and i are about 2 weeks away from coming out to wa. To look for a place to move. And were are going to try to get into the Kitsap peninsula. And we'll be at least somewhere in the seatle metropolitan area, to grow our own mushroom company

[@NefariousMinds]

Awesome!!! 💕💖

[@timmynormand8082]

Really interesting no Douglas firs here in my state but the way you interpret is awesome. Thank you bro

[@DTA-me3kv]

@UCLm5KxfCdPcOEEnm_cmvyeg ???

[@naturallynorthwest9748]

Awesome info on Douglas Firs! Thank you.

[@th8298]

Thank you aaron for that. I love learning more. I wish I could pronounce some of those words ..lol. And I enjoyed hearing that story about the mice. It will help me remember for sure. I can't wait until the mushrooms start growing again. Hey... any chance you've seen any ghost plant out your way? I had a place I would see them growing, but now I can't find them anywhere. It's probably because it's not growing right now... but I thought I would ask. 😇

[@stevenorcutt2099]

Thanks bud...nice work as always

[@joriemitchell2069]

So helpful!

[@justinlyle7831]

Dope video.

[@dcfromthev]

This is so amazing, I would love to see videos on the many other trees that grow in association with fungi! Is this a series!?

[@sopheap4177]

Thanks for another great video Aaron! How are you taking those shots way up high? Do you have a drone?

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Thanks, and yes, it's a lot of fun! 🍄

[@rachelcarey486]

love these videos! do you have any on Western Red Cedar? or Big Leaf Maple? Homeschoolers over here and we are using your videos to learn about what we see on our Nature Walks :)

[@mushroomwonderland1]

I love that! I have a playlist that's tree ID, but I need to make more of them. But yeah I do talk about Western red cedar and I'm pretty sure there's a section about Big leaf maples. Basically all the big trees that grow here in the PNW.

[@rachelcarey486]

@@mushroomwonderland1 Wonderful! So nice to find videos about where we live :) I'll keep searching for the video about Cedars and Maples.

[@thecorcoran]

We camp at the state park you where you filmed:)

[@Kammerliteratur]

Here in Europe, where this tree doesn't belong, Pseudotsuga is a mushroom desert.

[@honeyvitagliano3227]

💚🙏🌈

[@th8298]

I also think I found a fossilized mushroom. I know that sounds crazy... but I'm serious. You should see this.

[@mushroomwonderland1]

Strange!

[@MichaelMalxAlexander]

Do know if there is any mushrooms associated with cedars?

[@mushroomwonderland1]

There are not! They, like redwoods, and western red-cedar do not have any mycorrhizal connections. That is why it is thought there really good for building materials in wet climates because they actually hold some antifungal properties.

[@MichaelMalxAlexander]

@@mushroomwonderland1 thanks for all the great info bro! Really enjoy your videos!

[@rickfawyers6808]

My KZbin channel name can help u out with shrooms,LSD,dmt, and other psychedelic stuffs. They help those with autism and depression too

[@1979kw]

Grandma? Lol,

[@wild_for_nature9932]

Love your content but, please ditch the music. It's distracting. I couldn't focus on a word you said.

[@frithar]

Dude, love the info but kill the music, please?

[@mushroomwonderland1]

I get far more compliments about people enjoying the music, plus I enjoy it. I think it adds to it, it holds the viewer better, and makes it less boring.