Trees of New York State 99 



PINACEAE 



Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr. 



Hemlock 



Habit — A tree at maturity usually 60-70 feet tall with a trunk diameter 

 of 2-4 feet, under optimum conditions becoming 100 feet in height. With 

 sufficient light the crown is obtusely pyramidal, broad-based, consisting of 

 horizontal branches (the lower pendulous) which extend to the ground. 

 Under forest conditions, the trunk is often devoid of branches for two- 

 thirds of its length and exhibits decided taper. Branches and foliage 

 arranged in flat-topped sprays. 



Leaves — Borne spirally on the branches but appearing two-ranked due to a 

 t\^'ist in the petioles, oblong-linear, flat, obscurely grooved, rounded or 

 notched at the apex, often obscurely denticulate, dark yello^\ish- green 

 and lustrous above, with two broad, white-glaucous lines beneath, each 

 line consisting of 5-6 rows of stomata, i/^-% of an inch long, about 

 1/16 of an inch wide. 



Flowers — Appearing in May, monoecious, borne in cones. Staminate cones 

 borne near the ends of the branches on the growth of the j^revious season, 

 axillary, on slender stalks, about % of an inch long, subglobose, yellow 

 at maturity. Ovulate cones terminal, oblong, about % of an inch long, 

 pale green at pollination. 



Fruit - — ■ An ovate-oblong, pale green cone, V2-% of an inch long, suspended 

 on a slender, puberulous peduncle, attaining full size in the summer and 

 turning reddish or grayish brown in the autumn, gradually setting free 

 the seeds during the winter and falling in the spring of the second year. 

 Cone-scales orbicular to obovate, slightly tliickened above. Seeds light 

 brown, vidnged, about 1/16 of an inch long. 



Winter characters — Branchlets during the first winter yellowish brown and 

 pubescent, becoming dark grayish or purplish brouTi and glabrous the 

 tliird season. Buds about 1/16 of an inch in length, ovate, obtuse, 

 slightly puberulous, light chestnut-brown. Mature bark reddish or gray- 

 ish brown, thick, deeply divided by long fissures into broad ridges, closely 

 scaly on the surface. 



Habitat — A moisture-loving tree, occurring on damp soils along stream 

 courses, the sides of glens, northern slopes, borders of lakes and ponds 

 and margins of swamps. Eeaches its best development under dense forest 

 conditions where it is protected from extreme wind pressure. Shallow- 

 rooted and subject to wind fall. 



Range — Nova Scotia west through Ontario, Michigan and Wisconsin to 

 ^Minnesota, soutli along the Appalachians to Georgia and Alabama. 

 Attains its best development in the southern Appalachians. Zones B, 

 C, and D. 



Uses — Formerly despised as a source of timber. With the depletion in the 

 supply of the more valuable species, the Hemlock has come to be an 

 important timber tree. Wood light, hard, brash, coarse-grained, splintery, 

 subject to shake, light brown, tinged with red. Chiefly manufactured 

 into lumber of the coarser grades. The wood is also widely used for 

 "mechanical" pulp. Hemlock bark is an important source of tannin in 

 the northeastern states. 



