if indeed it is douglas fir as your friend has suggested, it will be very hard and also has an amazing sherbert like smell, it usually has a sort of pinkish tinge as well that's hard to describe in the heartwood when freshly planed.
I'd personally say it's not Douglas Fir. It's not out of the realm of possibility, but if it is Douglas Fir it's unlike any piece I've ever seen and I've machined actual miles of the stuff for cladding (About 3000M of the stuff! That was a dull couple of days! :lol . As Tyreman said, it's very pungent and sweet-smelling and it's usually very orange, like below.
I'm having problems with ^that^ picture. It is a very nice piece of quarter sawn wood, which I need, but is quite unobtainable in The Netherlands, where I live.
Couldn't you have just said "..usually very orange, like an orange.", or something?