Pennsylvania State Tree

Eastern hemlock Pinaceae Tsuga canadensis
Leaf: Evergreen, 1/2 inch long, dark green in color, with 2 lines of white stomata below. Tips are blunt. Needles are two-ranked.

Flower: Monoecious; males yellow, small, round; females light green at branch tips.

Fruit: Ovoid, 3/4 inch long with rounded, entire scales. Maturing September to October.

Twig: Fine, gray-brown in color.

Bark: On young trees, gray-brown, smooth, turning scaly. Older trees are red-brown with wide ridges and furrows. When cut or broken, purple streaks are obvious.

Form: A medium-sized tree with a dense, conical crown, fine branches and a drooping terminal shoot. Typically a poor natural pruner.

Copyright 2003, Virginia Tech Forestry Department, all rights reserved.
Photos courtesy: Michael Aust, John Baitey, Ctaude L. Brown, Bruce Bongarten,
Susan D. Day, Edward C. Jensen, Richard E. Kreh, Larry H. McCormick, Alex X.
Niemiera, John A. Peterson, Oana Popescu, John R. Seiter, David W. Smith, Kim
C. Steiner, James E. Ward, Rodney E. Will, Shepard M. Zedaker.
Text written by: John R. Seiter, Edward C. Jensen, Or John A. Peterson