| British Columbia Outdoor Wilderness Guide |
MOUNTAIN HEMLOCK
tsuga mertensiana
- 'tsuga'
is from 'tsu-ga' the Japanese word for "tree" and "mother",
'mertensiana' is named for the botanist Franz Mertens
- Mountain
Hemlock is also known as Black Hemlock
UNIQUE
FEATURES:
- unlike
most conifers, most of the Mountain Hemlock'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:
- Mountain
Hemlock grows in coastal mountains, Cariboo, Selkirk
and Monashee mountains
- Mountain
Hemlock appears from mid-elevations to timberline
- Mountain
Hemlock occurs where there is a heavy, early snowpack
- area
with only a short growing season
- can
also appear in bogs along the north coast
SIZE:
- Mountain
Hemlock's 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
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