Washington State Capitol Moon Tree - Olympia, Washington - Moon Trees on Waymarking.com

Following is an exerpt from the "Trees of the Washington State Capitol Campus" brochure:

While the Douglas fir is one of the most common evergreens in Washington, this particular tree has a unique history. During the Apollo moon missions between 1969 and 1972, Douglas fir seedlings were transported to the moon for each of the 50 states. The Washington state 'moon tree' was planted as a seedling on the Capitol campus at its location on Capitol Way, near Tivoli fountain. It's a very full and beautifully formed tree that has a place of honor on the campus, reminding visitors of the Apollo missions to the moon.

This is the species whose domain of greenery led to Washington being called the Evergreen State. It coats the hillsides and valleys of millions of square miles in the maritime Pacific Northwest. Colossal dark trunks stand out here and there on the Capitol Campus, for example 10 large old ones between the Cherberg and Institutions buildings. These bare, giant trees are our renowned Douglas firs, which in the great Olympic National Park measure as tall as 326 feet, the thickest trunk almost 15 feet in diameter! Most houses and wooden structures in our state are built of Douglas fir. It is ecologically and economically most important. Its name commemorates the Scottish plant explorer David Douglas, who first sent seeds of the species to England in 1827. Today, some of his seedlings there are 200 feet tall.