Eastern Hemlock

(Tsuga canadensis)

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Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)

Identifying Characters: The cones arise from the tips of the small branches and are short and globular. The needles are arranged in two rows and taper toward their apices.

Similar Species: Carolina Hemlock is sympatric with Eastern Hemlock within its range. The cones of the Carolina Hemlock are longer (1 to 1.5 inches) than those of Eastern Hemlock (0.5 to 0.8 inches). The cone scales of Eastern Hemlock are broader than those of Carolina Hemlock. The needles of Eastern Hemlock taper toward the tip, but do not in Carolina Hemlock.

Measurements: Mature trees are typically 60 to 70 feet, although a few individuals exceed 100 feet; diameter at breast height 2 to 4 feet.

Cones: Cones ovoid, 0.5 to 0.8 inches long, borne at the ends of the branchlets as in all hemlocks; cone scales broad,rounded at the apex.

Needles: Needles 0.3 to 0.7 inches, flattened and tapering to the apex; color dark yellow-green to green, shiny; needles arranged in two rows on the branch.

Bark: Bark of mature trees gray-brown with a slight purple tint; bark deeply furrowed into narrow ridges.

Native Range: The northern limit of Eastern Hemlock extends from outliers in northeastern Minnesota and the western one-third of Wisconsin eastward through northern Michigan, south-central Ontario, extreme southern Quebec, through New Brunswick, and all of Nova Scotia. Within the United States the species is found throughout New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and the middle Atlantic States, extending westward from central New Jersey to the Appalachian Mountains, then southward into northern Georgia and Alabama. Outliers also appear in extreme southern Michigan and western Ohio, with scattered islands in southern Indiana and east of the Appalachians in the middle Atlantic States. (Silvics of North America. 1990. Agriculture Handbook 654.)

Habitat: Eastern Hemlock is widely distributed in the northern deciduous forests but is commonest in moist soils of deep woods.