Ohio’s only native hemlock can be differentiated from other Buckeye State conifers by its flattened needles, featuring 2 white lines beneath them.

This tree grows best in cool, moist locations such as the north-facing slopes of deep ravines. The photos in this blog post were taken near Chippewa Creek in Brecksville Reservation.

Its cones are very small (from ½ to ¾ of an inch long), and appear pale green in the early autumn and turn a darker brown in late autumn. The cones hang singly from the tips of twigs and have 2 small seeds underneath their rounded scales.

The Eastern Hemlock has a range that covers most of the eastern United States and extends into Canada and to the west. This is a slow-growing, long-lived tree, which unlike many conifers grows well in shade. Eastern Hemlocks can take 250 to 300 years to reach maturity and may live for 800 years or more.

Its size varies tremendously, based upon local growing conditions, but in general Eastern Hemlock slowly reaches 70 feet in height by 35 feet in spread in favorable sites. Specimens can achieve twice that size under optimum conditions.

“Back in the day” its bark was much in demand for its tannic acid, which was used for tanning leather. Lumber production from eastern hemlock reached its peak between 1890 and 1910 but is seldom harvested for solid wood products now. Several birds and mammals feed on its seeds.

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Among the longest-lived species in Ohio, this conical conifer with long, slender branches drooping to the ground grows between 60 and 70 feet tall and is extremely shade tolerant.

It may take 250 to 300 years to reach maturity and may live for 800 years or more. Many species of wildlife benefit from the excellent habitat that a dense stand of Eastern Hemlock provides.

It is easy to identify. The distinctive, flat needles are glossy green above and pale green with two white lines below.

This tree grows best in cool, moist locations such as the north-facing slopes and ravines in eastern Ohio.

Eastern Hemlock has separate male and female flowers in mid-spring. The female flowers quickly develop into small green cones that hang from the tips of the new growth of twigs – here’s a photo from August.

After the cones mature, turn brown and open to release their seeds; they may remain on the branches for several years. The cones are only about 3/4 of an inch long.

Eastern Hemlock has bark that starts out as fairly smooth, but it eventually transitions to a textured surface with prominent fissures and wide, flattened ridges, having a brown to brown-gray coloration.

Native Americans used the moist inner bark to create a paste to treat wounds and sores. Even today hemlock oil, distilled from the needles and twigs, is used in liniments.

This straight-trunked, gracefully pyramidal tree with long, pendulous limbs and short-needled, feathery branches adds color, shape and texture to the Winter landscape.

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