The Western Hemlock (
Tsuga heterophylla) is the
State tree species of Washington State. Being originally from Eastern Washington I have to admit that I was surprised to discover that the Western Hemlock was our state tree. I would have guessed that the
Western Red Ceder or the
Ponderosa Pine would have been much better choices. As it turns out my feeling was not unjustified. The following quote is from official Washington State government website...
http://www.leg.wa.gov/legislature/statesymbols/
“In 1946, an Oregon newspaper teased Washington for not having a state tree. The Portland Oregonian picked out the western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla for us, but Washington newspapers decided to choose their own and selected the popular western red cedar. State Representative George Adams of Mason County pleaded with the Legislature to adopt the western hemlock. The hemlock, he said, would become "the backbone of this state's forest industry." Adams' bill passed the Legislature and was signed into law in 1947.”
One of the distinctive features of the Western Hemlock is its "floppy" top and branches. One way to pick out the Hemlocks in the forest is to look for the trees that have the top sort of flopped over to one side as if they were too limp to stand up straight at the top. Also in the image above you can see how the end of the branch is somewhat limp.
The "needle-like" leaves of the Western Hemlock are somewhat flat and do not occur in bunches like a lot of other evergreens. They are about 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch long.
These pictures are not actually from a tree in Washington State but rather from a tree in Stanley Park in Vancouver B.C. that was conveniently labeled with the little plate below.
The Quote "Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark" comes from "The Tragedy of Macbeth" scene one spoken by the Third Witch. It is a bit strange that this quote is used in connection with the Western Hemlock because the "Hemlock" that is referred to in the quote is not a tree and has no resemblance what so ever to this tree. Rather it is a poisonous perennial herbaceous flowering plant with the species name
Conium maculatum. It looks like somebody did not do their homework right.
The cones of the Western Hemlock are quite small (less than an inch long) which makes them a favorite for use in arts and crafts as well as for potpourri.
A similar tree is the Eastern Hemlock (
Tsuga canadensis) that is the state tree of Pennsylvania.
The European Hackberry (Celtis australis) is a tree species that also goes by the names European Nettle tree and Lote tree and is possibly the tree that the "Lotus-eaters" ate from as referenced by Homer.
The fruit of the European hHackberry is a small berry like "drupe" that hangs on the end of a short stem connected to the base of the leaf stem. The size of the fruit is about one half inch in diameter.
Below is another view of the large tree (image above) from a different angle.
The leaf of the Celtis australis is simple in shape with serrate margins and measures about 2-3 inches long. The top side is a darker green than the bottom side which is also "fuzzier" also.
The bark is light gray and with age develops interesting shapes. One of the shapes in the picture below looks a bit like an eye.
I found another large example of the European Hackberry tree on the grounds of the Cathedral of Málaga. From the size of its trunk it looks like it has been growing there for a rather long time.
