Western Hemlock, An Important Tree in North America

1. The Silviculture of Western Hemlock

Western hemlock's potential for management as an efficient producer of fiber has long been recognized. It is an important browse species for deer and elk.

2. The Images of Western Hemlock

Forestryimages.org provides several images of parts of Western hemlock. The tree is a conifer and the lineal taxonomy is Pinopsida > Pinales > Pinaceae > Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg. Western hemlock is also commonly called Pacific hemlock and west coast hemlock.

3. The Range of Western Hemlock

Western hemlock is an important commercial tree species of the Pacific coast and northern Rocky Mountains. Along the Pacific coast, its range extends north along the Coast Ranges from central California to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, a distance of 2,000 miles. It is the dominant species in British Columbia and Alaska along the Coast Mountains and on the coastal islands. Inland it grows along the western and upper eastern slopes of the Cascade Range in Oregon and Washington and the west side of the Continental Divide of the northern Rocky Mountains in Montana and Idaho north to Prince George, BC.