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Home > Hemlock > Mountain Hemlock

Mountain Hemlock

Mountain hemlocks are coniferous trees found across North America’s Pacific Coast.

Mountain Hemlock

Scientific Classification

KingdomPlantae
DivisionPinophyta
ClassPinopsida
OrderPinales
FamilyPinaceae
GenusTsuga
Scientific NameTsuga mertensiana

Mountain Hemlock Tree

Mountain Hemlock Pictures

Quick Information

Other NamesHemlock spruce, black hemlock
Tree TypeEvergreen
Identification

Size: 66-131 ft (20-40 m)

Trunk Diameter: 79 in (2 m)

Needles (Leaves): ¼-1 in (7-25 mm) long and 1⁄32–1⁄16 in (1-1.5 mm) in breadth, with a blunt tip, and soft texture, glossy and yellow-green to bluish-green

Bark: Gray, thin, and furrowed

Cones:  Small, purple, cylindrical

Seeds: Reddish-brown with a slender, pink-brown wing

Subspecies
  • Northern mountain hemlock (T. m. mertensiana)
  • California mountain hemlock (T. m. grandicona)
DistributionNevada, California, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Alaska in the US, and British Columbia in Canada
HabitatFound in snowy and cold subalpine habitats at elevations of 4,000-7,000 ft
Hardiness Zones4-8
Growth RateSlow
Lifespan800 years
Growing ConditionsSummer Conditions: Grows quicker in summer

Winter Conditions: Requires winters that are mild to cold

Rainfall: Needs high amount of rainfall

Light Requirements: Full sun but shade tolerant

Soil: Coarse, loose, well-drained soils with enough moisture

Diseases & PestsHemlock-willow rust, dwarf mistletoe, black stain root disease, red heart rot, hemlock sawfly, pine spittlebug, green velvet looper, western blackheaded budworm, etc.
Reproduction systemMonoecious
PropagationBy seeds and cuttings
Seedling DevelopmentGermination happens easily
Wildlife ValueOffers a nesting site to many birds like the great horned owl, great gray owl, common raven, hairy woodpecker, common flicker, and many more
UsesAs an ornamental tree, also used to make small dimension lumber and pulp
IUCN Conservation StatusLeast Concern

Mountain Hemlock Bark

Hemlock Mountain

Interesting Facts

  • Karl Mertens, after whom the tree’s Latin name comes from, collected the first specimens in the late 1820s.
  • The two most popular cultivars of the mountain hemlock are the ‘Blue Star’ and ‘Glauca.’

Mountain Hemlock Bonsai

Mountain Hemlock Cones

Mountain Hemlock Needles

Dwarf Mountain Hemlock

References:

  1. https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/docs/bro/bro51.pdf
  2. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/managing-our-forest-resources/silviculture/tree-species-selection/tree-species-compendium-index/mountain-hemlock
  3. https://tidcf.nrcan.gc.ca/en/trees/factsheet/295
  4. https://www.greatplantpicks.org/plantlists/view/1588
  5. https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/treebook/mountainhemlock.htm
  6. https://www.conifers.org/pi/Tsuga_mertensiana.php
  7. https://www.conifers.org/pi/Tsuga_mertensiana.php

Published on July 5th 2017 by Sudipto Chakrabarti under Hemlock.
Article was last reviewed on 5th December 2024.

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