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Eastern Hemlock

Tsuga canadensis

Eastern Hemlock 2

Identification

The Eastern Hemlock is the most blue-green conifer of them all. It’s branches wilt towards the ground. Each needle has two white bands running lengthwise on the top and bottom of the needle. The needles grow in rows on either side of the twig on which they are growing. The needles are flat. The tree in its general shape looks like an upside down cone. The bark is scaly and has a purplish-brown color.

Niche
The Eastern Hemlock is a producer. I know this because they make their own food; converting sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. They provide food for porcupine which eats the Hemlock's bark, along with red squirrel. Unfortunately the tree also is considered home to invasive insects known as hemlock woolly adelgid and elongate hemlock scale which feed on it’s wood.

The Eastern Hemlock grows best is cool moist climates without an abundance of sunlight. Hemlocks grow best in areas with many other trees, which provide shade. The reason Hemlock grows best in wetlands is because the soil is constantly saturated. Eastern Hemlocks often grow from a decaying stump or tree. The Hemlock serves as shelter for many animals including birds and other small animals. (Ex. Red Squirrel)

Sources
http://www.cornellplantations.org/our-gardens/natural-areas/invasive/hemlock-woolly-adelgid
http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/sites/harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/files/publications/pdfs/orwig_Sierran_2008.pdf

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) snappingturtle4321, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
  2. Adapted by snappingturtle4321 from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuga_canadensis

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