 Because of their distinctive cones, Douglas firs were finally placed in the new genus "Pseudotsuga" (meaning "false hemlock") by the French botanist Carrière in 1867.The genus name has also been hyphenated as "Pseudo-tsuga".The tree takes its English name from David Douglas, the Scottish botanist who first introduced "Pseudotsuga menziesii" into cultivation at Scone Palace in 1827.