Tsuga canadensis (Tsuga, Japanese for hemlock tree, canadensis, of Canada) is the scientific name for the eastern hemlock tree.  The eastern hemlock tree is native to Japan, the temperate regions of North America, central and southwestern China, Taiwan, and the Himalayas.

 

The eastern hemlock is a conifer tree. It is resin bearing and an evergreen. Its leaves are soft to the touch and borne singly on short stalks. They are blunt or notched at the tip, flat, linear, dark green with two longitudinal white lines on the lower surface.

 The 0.5 to 0.8 inch (1.2 -1.9 cm) long, light brown cones hang on short stalks and are much smaller than the cones of pine, spruce, and fir trees also growing in the park. The cones are widest at the middle and rounded to pointed at the tip. The thin scales of the cones are almost as wide as long.

 

The name “hemlock” brings to mind the poison that Socrates drank, but have no fear!  The eastern hemlock tree is unrelated to Poison Hemlock; the latter is an herb, not a tree, and is a member of the Parsley Family. In fact, Native Americans and woodsmen brewed a medicinal tea from the twigs and leaves of the eastern hemlock tree – like most conifers the needles are high in vitamin C.  Deer browse extensively on the foliage, and all of the hemlock trees in Eagle Creek Park have distinct browse lines as high as a deer can reach. Birds such as pine siskin, crossbills and chickadees depend upon hemlock tree seeds for food.

Sources:

Elias, Thomas S. (1980). The Complete Trees of North America. New York. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.

Grimm, William Carey (1957). The Illustrated Book of Trees. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Stackpole Books.

Jackson, Marion T. (2003). 101 Trees of Indiana. Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana. Indiana University Press.

Petrides, George (1980).  The Peterson Field Guide Series; A Field Guide to Eastern Trees. New York and Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company.

 Sargent, Charles Sprague (1961). Manual of the Trees of North America, (Volume I). New York. Dover Publications, Inc.

 

 

This Arborvitae tree is located in the field just south of the Earth Discovery Center's parking lot.  It is located along the southern rim of the field, just west of the old amphitheatre's descending steps.  It is next to a large American Beech Tree, and bears a tag labeled "AV".  Deer have browsed the tree, nibbling the branches as high up as they can reach and leaving the bottom half of the tree bare.

 

 

 

Arborvitae is a common name given this tree by French settlers who, taught by Native Americans, used parts of the tree to treat scurvy. Translated into English, Arborvitae means "Tree of Life."  Other common names are Eastern White Cedar, Northern White Cedar and Swamp Cedar. The Arborvitae tree is not a true cedar tree, however.

 

Arborvitae's scientific name is Thuja occidentalis.  "Thuja,"  Greek for an amoratic wood, describes the Arborvitae's fragrant wood, while "occidentalis"  refers to the western hemisphere.  This tree is native to the colder regions of eastern North America.

 

Arborvitae is a conifer tree. It is resin bearing and evergreen. Its leaves are very small and scale like.  A pair  of leaves grows opposite one another very close to or appressed to a fan-like branchlet.

 

 

 

The Arborvitae provides food for wildlife. Red squirrels eat the seeds and spring-time buds. Hares, rabbits and deer browse the tree.  Birds such as pine-siskin and crossbill eat its seeds.

 

Sources:

 

Elias, Thomas S. (1980). The Complete Trees of North America. New York. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.

 

Grimm, William Carey (!957). The Illustrated Book of Trees. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. Stackpole Books.