| Eastern Hemlock |  |
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| Common Name | Hemlock, Eastern |
| Also Known As | Hemlock, Canada Hemlock, Hemlock Spruce |
| Scientific Name | Tsuga canadensis |
| Form |
The eastern hemlock is a large tree usually attaining of height of 60-80 feet with a diameter of 2-3 feet, but may reach of height of 100 feet with a diameter of four feet. In the open its crown is dense, conic, and high with limbs extending almost to the ground. In dense stands it has a bole free of lateral branches for a considerable distance from the ground with little taper.
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- Bark
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Bark Grayish brown to reddish brown, rich in tannin, becoming 4/5 of an inch thick on old trunks and roughened by long fissures separating rather broad ridges which are covered with close scales. Inner bark is cinnamon red. - Twigs
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Twigs Slender, rough because of decurrent projections of bark upon
which the leaves rest, at first somewhat hairy and somewhat yellowish-brown, later smooth grayish-brown tinged with purple. - Buds
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Buds Alternate, ovate, 1/16 of an inch long, blunt-pointed, reddish brown, not glossy. - Leaves
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Leaves Linear, flat, about 1/2 of an inch long, rounded or notched at apex, dark green and shining above, pale green and dull below with a white line on each side of midrib. The leaves persist for about three years and are joined to short, persistent, woody stalks. They are spirally arranged around the twig, but appear two-ranked. - Flowers
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Flowers Appear about April or May. Staminate and pistillate flowers are separate, but usually borne on the same branch. Staminate are small, globose, yellow, and 1/4 of an inch long. Pistillate are oblong and pale green. - Fruit
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Fruit A small, short-stalked cone maturing at the end of the first season,
about 3/4 of an inch long usually persisting during the first winter. - Wood Grain
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Wood Grain Non-porous; without resin passages; light, hard, not strong, brittle, coarse grained, not durable, liable to splinter, difficult to work, light-brown with lighter sapwood. Weighs 26 lbs per cubic foot. Used for construction, coarse lumber, and especially for frame work and paper pulp.