Eastern Hemlock

Tsuga canadensis

Dimensions:

• Height: 40’ - 70’

• Mature spread: 25’ - 35’

• Trunk Diameter: 2’ - 3’

Habitat and Range:

• prominent in mixed mesophytic communities in Appalachian sections of eastern Kentucky

• most shade-tolerant of any native conifer and requires shade for its seedlings

• prefers slightly acidic, well drained, but evenly moist soil

Features:

• pyramidal, medium-sized, needle evergreen tree with horizontal to pendulous, graceful branches

• can live for hundreds of years, with some reaching 800 years old or more

• provides a cozy home for winter wildlife, along with food

• tree’s seeds are enjoyed by juncos, chickadees, and siskins

• unfortunately, hemlocks are being decimated by an invasive insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid

History:

• Native Americans used hemlock bark and leaves to treat rheumatism, bronchial maladies, colds and fevers

• exceptionally high in vitamin C and often made into a delightful tea

• Native Americans used the cambium to make bread and soups and it could be mixed with dried fruit and animal fat for pemmican

• the bark was used to make dyes

• early settlers used wood for construction and its bark for tanning hides