PINACEAE 

 Hemlock 



Tsuga canadensis, (.) Carr. 



HABIT. A large tree 60-80 feet high, with a trunk 2-4 

 feet in diameter ; forming a rather broad, open, somewhat irregu- 

 lar-pyramidal crown of slender, horizontal branches. 



LEAVES. Spirally arranged around the branch, but appear- 

 ing 2-ranked by the twisting of their petioles ; linear, flat, rounded 

 at the apex; about l / 2 inch long; dark yellow-green and shining 

 above, 'hoary beneath; short-petioled. Persistent about 3 years. 



FLOWERS. April-May; monoecious; the staminate axil- 

 lary, >short-stalked, light yellow, about Y% inch long, composed of 

 subglobose clusters of stamens; the pistillate terminal, oblong, 

 pale green, J^ inch long, the scales short, pinkish. 



FRUIT. Autumn of first season, gradually losing their seeds 

 during the winter and falling the next spring; oblong-ovoid, 

 acute, short-stalked, red-brown cones, about ^ inch long ; seeds 

 Y% inch long, witJh wings about twice as long. 



WINTER-BUDS. Ovoid, obtuse, red-brown, slightly pub- 

 erulous, */{Q inch long. 



BARK. Twigs at first pale brown and pubescent, becoming 

 glabrous, gray-brown; thick, red-brown or gray on the trunk, 

 deeply divided into narrow, rounded, scaly ridges. 



WOOD. Light, soft, weak, brittle, coarse- and crooked- 

 grained, not durabl-e, ill-smelling, light red-brown, with thin, 

 darker colored sapwood. 



DISTRIBUTION. Throughout the state, with the excep- 

 tion of the south-eastern portion; scarce on the east side of the 

 state, more common on the west, becoming very abundant in 

 Emmet County. 



HABITAT. Prefers well-drained uplands and slopes of 

 ravines. 



NOTES. A favorite hedge plant. Useful for ornamental 

 planting in shady situations. 



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