Looking Up
by Trix Niernberger
Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is a long lived (150 to 200 years) conifer native to eastern North America that usually grows to a hundred feet in moist woods. The top of the leaves are shiny green with the underside, pictured here, with pale green color on both sides of the central rib. The tree is not poisonous. Some Native Americans used its needles and bark to treat illnesses.
The species is threatened by the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid insect (Adelges tsugae) introduced from East Asia. The hemlocks in the southern Appalachian Mountains have been devastated. The sap-sucking bug is currently in southern and western New York. Watching for it here is important.
Contact DEC if you see small woolly egg masses (1/16 to 1/8-inch) on the underside of hemlock branches. Infected hemlock trees may appear stressed and losing needles. For more information, see the NYS website at www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7250.html.