Hemlocks – Tsuga

The Northwest has two species of hemlock. It is easy to distinguish them from other native conifers by their short, flat needles and by the drooping leaders at the top of each tree. The cones have rounded scales like Douglas fir, but don't have bracts protruding from them. You can usually distinguish one hemlock from the other by elevation, although their ranges overlap. Where they do grow together, the needle arrangement and cone size will show the difference. Tsuga is the Japanese word for hemlock.

© 2014 Ken Denniston