Day 14 Eastern Hemlock

.6, Some snow melt today in the sun, coverage remain 4-6 inches, 30s, wind 10mph. Chickadees vocalizing as well as a distant WB Nuthatch. Learning how to photo trees for definitive ID. I notice Eastern Hemlock growing in low spots on my walk, although I thought it was a species that preferred drier slopes.

Eastern hemlock is a graceful native evergreen tree. This conifer is unusual in that the terminal leader often droops instead of giving the tree a typical pointed top like that of most trees in the pine family. The 5/16 to 9/16 inch needles (Petrides, 1972) are flat and green above with white, shallow, bands on the underside. They are attached with slender stalks and have a flattened, rather than spiral, appearance on the branch. It takes twenty to forty years for the tree to begin seed production (Elias, 1980). Flowers are produced in spring with cones ripening in the fall and releasing seed during the winter. Athough slow growing, a tree can attain a height of 160 feet and trunk diameter of 6 to 7 feet (Harlow and Harrar, 1968). Long lived, they may approach 1000 years of age (Elias, 1980). https://www.nps.gov/shen/learn/nature/eastern_hemlock.htm

Posted on February 10, 2021 09:01 PM by mainebirder