Can the Staff of the Woodlands be used as a druidic focus?

Question

First of all, I play in Adventurers League, so if anyone answers this - please no house rules.

I have a druid character that, for the most part, fights in melee range (up close and very personal). Recently, she received the Staff of the Woodlands which is awesome, but also causes a small problem: she carries a shield, and needs to keep an unoccupied hand to hold her focus and use somatic spells.

According to the PHB, a druidic focus can be a staff that was "drawn whole out of a living tree". Nowhere in the description of the Staff of the Woodlands is its make mentioned; however, it can literally turn into a tree and vice-versa.

Can the Staff of the Woodlands be used as a druidic focus, or do I have to give it or my AC up?

Answer 1

The Staff of the Woodlands is a druidic focus

As you've pointed out , the PHB gives a few examples of what a druidic focus should be and "a staff drawn whole out of a living tree" is certainty the most applicable option in the list.

Druidic Focus. A druidic focus might be a sprig of mistletoe or holly, a wand or scepter made of yew or another special wood, a staff drawn whole out of a living tree, or a totem object incorporating feathers, fur, bones, and teeth from sacred animals. A druid can use such an object as a spellcasting focus.

However, that list is not an exhaustive list. "A druidic focus might be" one of those things, but it could also be a something else.

Moreover, one of the options for a druidic focus in the Adventuring Gear table (PHB p150) is simply noted as a "Wooden staff". D&D Beyond is organized slightly differently, but that "Wooden staff" is still listed as a druidic focus.

Staff of the Woodlands does not describe how it is made of so one could question whether it has been "drawn whole out of a living tree". However, no one could reasonably claim that this isn't a wooden staff, given its theme and depiction:

Finally, there is precedent for a magic item that functions as a focus, even though that magic item does not explicitly say it is a focus.

Answer 2

The answer isn't clearly defined in the rules, so there is some DM leeway here, though the precedent leans towards yes. Specifically, Jeremy Crawford has said that a magic missile wand can function as an arcane focus.