North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Tsuga canadensis

Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière

eastern hemlock, canada hemlock

Cultivar(s): Cole's Prostrate, Gensch's White Tip, Jacqueline Verkade, Jervis, Julian Potts, Minima, Nana, Nana Gracilis, Stewarts Dwarf

Image ID: 17948
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: TSCA
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Tsuga canadensis
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-09-25

CULTIVAR INDEX

Cult_id	Cultivar_name	Action
1635	Cole's Prostrate	View
1636	Gensch's White Tip	View
1637	Jacqueline Verkade	View
1638	Jervis	View
1639	Julian Potts	View
1640	Minima	View
1641	Nana	View
1642	Nana Gracilis	View
1643	Stewarts Dwarf	View

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: TSUGA
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Tsuga
GENUS AUTHORITY: Carrière
GENUS COMMON: Hemlock
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 14 species, trees, of e. Asia (China, Japan, and Taiwan), e. North America, and w. North America.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Taylor in FNA (1993b); Page in Kramer & Green (1990).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: PINACE
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Pinaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Sprengel ex F. Rudolphi 1830
FAMILY COMMON: Pine Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 12 genera and about 220 species, trees and shrubs, almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere.
FAMILY REFERENCE: Thieret in FNA (1993b); Price (1989)=Z; Page in Kramer & Green (1990).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO: This graceful, evergreen tree grows in the eastern United States and northward into Canada. In the south, the native range is largely restricted to the Appalachian Mountains. There are some notable exceptions, such as Hemlock Bluff, near Raleigh, NC. These isolated populations in the warmer Piedmont are thought to be relics of Ice-age plant distribution patterns, which reflect a much colder climate. Populations throughout the eastern United States are now being decimated by the introduced Wooly Adelgid. These trees provide valuable shelter for many birds. Pine Siskins and Chickadees will spend hours feeding on the seeds from the small cones.
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 60 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION: Evergreen

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Mar-Apr

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
				x

FRUITING PERIOD: Sep-Nov.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: eastern North America

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Eastern hemlock is a delicately-textured conifer that makes a fine specimen tree. It can also provide effective screening. This species is found growing in moist woodlands from the Southern Appalachians north to Canada. Tiny ½-inch cones are attractive on its evergreen branches during the fall and winter. Chickadees eat the seeds from the cones of this species. The Cherokee tribe used the outer bark to make a rosy-tan dye, and its inner bark for weaving baskets. The genus Tsuga supports up to 89 lepidoptera species.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet, Well-drained
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 4
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 8
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Butterfly Friendly, Bird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
579	1985-0210			View
580	1985-0211			View
581	1985-0213			View
582	1985-0214			View
583	1985-0215			View
584	1985-0216			View
585	1985-0217			View
586	1985-0218			View
587	1985-0219			View
1431	1986-1211			View
1432	1986-1212			View
2500	1986-2358			View
2501	1986-2359			View
3073	1989-0023			View
3300	1990-0161			View
3800	1991-0495			View
4771	1993-0059			View
6356	1995-1488			View
6413	1996-0029			View
6516	1996-0142			View
7311	2000-0048	2000-02-16		View
7634	2000-0397	2006-11-28		View
8007	2004-0015			View
9479	2020-0055			View
9553	2023-0023	2023-02-22		View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
1222	579	178	NCBG staff	2002-12-01	View
1223	579	153	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1224	580	166	NCBG staff	1978-11-09	View
1225	581	177	NCBG staff	1981-04-26	View
1226	582	161	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1227	583	166	NCBG staff	1978-11-09	View
1228	584	198	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1229	584	198	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1230	584	198	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1231	584	198	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
1232	585	172	NCBG staff	1982-02-16	View
1233	586	166	NCBG staff	1982-02-16	View
1234	587	177	NCBG staff	1981-11-18	View
2505	1431	94	NCBG staff	2006-10-12	View
2506	1432	81	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
4247	2500	130	NCBG staff	1976-03-01	View
4248	2500	139	NCBG staff	1976-03-01	View
4249	2501	60	NCBG staff	1986-01-01	View
4250	2501	67	NCBG staff	1986-01-01	View
4251	2501	1	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
4252	2501	70	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
4253	2501	138	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
4254	2501	112	NCBG staff	1985-03-01	View
4255	2501	1	NCBG staff	1991-04-04	View
4256	2501	11	NCBG staff	1967-12-01	View
5098	3073	166	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5479	3300	187	NCBG staff	1970-10-01	View
5480	3300	188	NCBG staff	1970-10-01	View
6109	3800	199	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
7135	4771	1	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
7136	4771	71	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
9011	6356	2	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
9069	6413	166	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
9212	6516	82	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
10280	7311	187	NCBG staff	1992-01-01	View
10804	7634	83	NCBG staff	2002-01-01	View
10805	7634	81	NCBG staff	2002-01-01	View
11255	8007	153	NCBG staff	2003-04-08	View
13001	9479	153	MacIntyre	0000-00-00	View
13295	0	79	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13323	0	65	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13436	9553	71	Briggs	2023-01-12	View
13437	9553	1	Briggs	2023-01-12	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: TSCA
USDA Common Name: Eastern Hemlock
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, CT, DC, DE, GA, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV), CAN (NB, NS, ON, PE, QC)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACU				FACU			FACU	FACU

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

2018 Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina

NHP ID	S RANK	ROUNDED S RANK	G RANK	ROUNDED G RANK	STATE STATUS	FEDERAL STATUS
18995	S4S5	S4	G5	G5	W5

This information is derived from the 2018 North Carolina Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species.

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Tsuga canadensis
COMMON NAME: Eastern Hemlock, Canada Hemlock
SYNONYMY: [= C, F, FNA, G, K, Pa, RAB, S, Tn, Va, W, WV, Z]
PHENOLOGY: Mar-Apr; Sep-Nov.
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).
COMMENTS: Widespread in ne. North America, south to w. and c. VA, w. and (rarely) c. NC, nw. SC, n. GA, n. AL, TN, KY, IN, WI, and MN. One of the largest trees commonly encountered nowadays in 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 adelgic is severely affecting this species.
RANGE MAP: Tsuga canadensis.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Pinaceae Sprengel ex F. Rudolphi 1830 (Pine Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 12 genera and about 220 species, trees and shrubs, almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere.
REFERENCE: Thieret in FNA (1993b); Price (1989)=Z; Page in Kramer & Green (1990).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Tsuga Carrière (Hemlock)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 14 species, trees, of e. Asia (China, Japan, and Taiwan), e. North America, and w. North America.
REFERENCE: Taylor in FNA (1993b); Page in Kramer & Green (1990).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Tsuga canadensis in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Tsuga canadensis in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Tsuga canadensis in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Tsuga canadensis in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Tsuga canadensis in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Tsuga canadensis

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 17948 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 17948 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 17949 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 17948 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)