Trees to 30m; trunk to 1.5m diam.; crown broadly conic. Bark brownish, scaly and fissured. Twigs yellow-brown, densely pubescent. Buds ovoid, 1.5--2.5mm. Leaves (5--)15--20(--25)mm, mostly appearing 2-ranked, flattened; abaxial surface glaucous, with 2 broad, conspicuous stomatal bands, adaxial surface shiny green (yellow-green); margins minutely dentate, especially toward apex. Seed cones ovoid, 1.5--2.5 ´ 1--1.5cm; scales ovate to cuneate, 8--12 ´ 7--10mm, apex ± round, often projected outward. 2 n =24. Moist rocky ridges, ravines, and hillsides; 600--1800m; N.B., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que.; Ala., Conn., Del., Ga., Ind., Ky., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis. Numerous cultivars of Tsuga canadensis have been developed, including compact shrubs, dwarfs, and graceful trees. Wood of the species tends to be brittle and inferior to that of the other North American hemlocks. Eastern hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis ) is the state tree of Pennsylvania.
Tree to 30 m, the leader nodding; twigs pubescent; lvs 8-15 mm, blunt, usually minutely spinulose on the margin, twisted at the petiolar base to form flat sprays; cones thickly ellipsoid, 12-20 mm, scales persistently erect or ascending, the exposed portion of the middle ones distinctly broader than long. Moist soil, esp. on rocky ridges and hillsides; N.S. to Mich., Wis., and occasionally Minn., s. to N.J., Del., O., and Ind., and in the mts. to Ga. and Ala.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.