MOUNTAIN HEMLOCK
tsuga mertensiana

• 'tsuga' is from 'tsu-ga' the Japanese word for "tree" and "mother", 'mertensiana' is named for the botanist Franz Mertens
• also known as Black Hemlock

UNIQUE FEATURES:

• unlike most conifers, most of this tree's branches slope upwards at the tips; making them most unsuitable to take refuge under in the rain
• at higher elevations it is often stunted

LOCATION:

• in coastal mountains, Cariboo, Selkirk and Monashee mountains
• mid-elevations to timberline
• where there is a heavy, early snowpack
• area with only a short growing season
• can also appear in bogs along the north coast

SIZE:

• maximum size is 30 metres

CONES:

• two or three times longer than those of the western hemlock
• light to deep purple, green, becoming brown with age
• cylindrical in shape/narrow at each end
• pollen cones: bluish

NEEDLES:

• same size
• yellow-green to bluish green, glossy
• densely cover the branches (sprays do not have the flattened appearance of the western hemlock)
• triangular in a cross section, not flat like the western hemlock

BARK:

• dark reddish-brown
• cracked, grooved into narrow ridges

USES:

• modern - small dimension lumber, pulp