MOUNTAIN HEMLOCK 



Tsuga mertensiana (Bongard) Sargent 



Mountain hemlock forms wide expanses of dark green foliage 

 along the mountain sides. A mature tree has a tapering trunk two 

 to four feet in diameter and seventy to a hundred feet in height, and 

 gracefully drooping branches. The heavy cones are abundant and 

 beautifully colored, especially in their earlier stages, before the scales 

 have dried in ripening. In the Selkirk Mountains this is a conspicu- 

 ous tree, adding greatly to the beauty of the landscape. 



Mountain hemlock has a comparatively narrow range, occurring 

 from western Montana to California and Alaska. 



The specimen sketched grew near Glacier House, Glacier, British 

 Columbia, at an altitude of 3,500 feet. 



PLATE 167 



