[6] The growth form is straight, with a conical crown from 12–30 m (39–98 ft) broad, and a strong and spreading root system.

The female cones are from 11–17 cm (4.3–6.7 in) long,[4] larger and with thicker scales than those of other douglas-firs, and with exserted tridentine bracts.

At low elevation, it occurs near streams in moist, shaded canyons and draws where aspects are mostly north and east.

Pseudotsuga macrocarpa populations are suspected to be declining due to possibly larger and more extreme wildland fires with greater frequencies.

Although historical information has provided the opportunity to detect stand level patch changes, post-fire resprouting of older more mature trees and natural regeneration and recruitment of the species into higher canopy has yet to be adequately quantified.

One or two years after the Station fire in 2009 on the Angeles National Forest, there was an estimated 20:1 cedar:bigcone seedling density in fixed radius plots on Mount Wilson.

It may be more appropriate to perform population stability estimates up to five years or much later (i.e. 20 yrs) after a large conflagration due to the potential for immediate and delayed post-fire sprouting and regeneration and interplant competition, as well as the well-noted strategy of seed germination in shrub understories, which is likely to escape detection by surveyors until much later in its life.

In addition, an aggressive seed cone collection strategy should be drafted for this species which includes extensive collection during large cone production years such as 2013, and should include a tracking system to determine correlations to climatic conditions in order to develop a foundation from which to perform species viability assessments w/ varying future climate scenarios.

Its favorable qualities include resistance to drought, fire, insects, decay, and damage from ozone, and its aggressive rooting system and tolerance to variable growing medium.

Bigcone Douglas-fir stands provide habitat for black-tailed deer, black bear, and various small animals.