Spermatophytes (seed plants): Gymnosperms (non-flowering plants): Conifers: Pinales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Tsuga canadensis
FAMILY
Pinaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Learn more about Eastern Hemlock from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
One of the largest trees commonly encountered nowadays in parts of our area, but probably not naturally larger than many other trees – because of its low timber value, it was often left by loggers. The hemlock woolly adelgid is severely affecting this species, per Weakley's Flora.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Tsuga canadensis
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Tsuga canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Tsuga canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 2 (1993)
Tsuga canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 016-03-001:
Tsuga canadensis FAMILY Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Tsuga canadensis
COMMON NAME:
Eastern Hemlock, Canada Hemlock, Spruce Pine, Hemlock Spruce
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p12a
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USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_259
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Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_075
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_tsca_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_tsca_005_lhp
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_tsca_006_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_tsca_007_lhp
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_tsca_008_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_tsca_009_lvp
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_tsca_010_lvp
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_tsca_011_lvp
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_042521atlanta12
April Fulton County GA
Atlanta History Center
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Stephanie C. Brundage scb_042521atlanta14
April Fulton County GA
Atlanta History Center
)
JK Marlow jkm0305zc_01
May Buncombe County NC
Botanical Gardens at Asheville
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JK Marlow jkm0305zc_02
May Buncombe County NC
Botanical Gardens at Asheville
)
JK Marlow jkm060521_155
May Macon County NC
Highlands Biological Station
Bark brown to red-brown, scaly, becoming thick and forming plates or ridges, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_tsuga_canadensis_3
May
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JK Marlow jkm080802_152
August Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
The tiny hemlock woolly adelgid has left a trail of dead hemlocks, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
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JK Marlow jkm140816_698
August Jackson County NC
High Hampton Inn
Seed cone of T. canadensis on left, that of T. caroliniana on right.
COMPARE
conifers (not including Pines)
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_t_canadensis_leaves_1
September Walker County GA
Needles 3/8" to 3/4" long, flexible, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_tsuga_canadensis_s
September
Cones pendant, small, with thin scales, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
COMPARE
cones of Fir, Hemlock and Spruce
)
Paul Thompson psttsuga_canadensis
September?
Leaves are primarily 2-ranked. — Clemson Extension
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JK Marlow s041226_b
December Greenville County SC
Caesars Head State Park
Needles 2-ranked, flattened, with 2 narrow whitish bands of stomata beneath, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
COMPARE
needles of Fir, Hemlock and Spruce
)
L.L. (Chick) Gaddy llg_deadhemlocks
Month Unknown Haywood County NC
Dead Canada hemlock in high elevation cove forest in Pigeon River headwaters, per Alpine South: Plants and Plant Communities of the High Elevations of the Southern Appalachians (Gaddy, 2014).
)
L.L. (Chick) Gaddy llg_hemlocks
Month Unknown
Left: leaves (needles) of Carolina hemlock. Right: Canada or eastern hemlock, per Alpine South: Plants and Plant Communities of the High Elevations of the Southern Appalachians (Gaddy, 2014).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Tsuga canadensis
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Tsuga canadensis
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Tsuga canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Tsuga canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 2
Tsuga canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 016-03-001:
Tsuga canadensis
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Tsuga canadensis
1561
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: In a wide variety of habitats in the mountains, most typically and abundantly in moist sites in ravines or coves along streams, but likely to be found in all but the driest habitats between 300 and 1500 m (even occurring in peaty bogs, where it has a sickly yellow color and short life expectancy); in the western Piedmont of NC limited to progressively rarer microhabitats (primarily north-facing river bluffs), reaching its eastward limit in NC at a disjunct stand at Hemlock Bluff State Natural Area, Wake County (but uncommon in the Piedmont of VA and even present, though rare, in the Coastal Plain of VA), per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains, rare in Piedmont
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Needles flattened, flexible, to 3/4" long
Needles not in bundles, 2-ranked
"FLOWER":
Spring
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Cone
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p040
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p318
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p208
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p247
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p277
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p417
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p038
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p02
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p264
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p354
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