Medicinal Monday... the Stately Eastern Hemlock

This coniferous tree native to the eastern portion of North America including Connecticut and parts of  Maritime Canada is a slow-growing evergreen that lives a very long time. This tree is the largest native evergreen conifer in the Eastern USA. Native American communities found many uses for this beautiful tree.

About the Eastern Hemlock

Tsuga canadensis or the Eastern Hemlock may take up to 250 to 300 years to reach maturity and may live for 800 years or more. Unlike most conifers, the eastern hemlock has to have shade provided by hardwood trees in order to regenerate. This tree needs moist soil that is well-drained and can grow from sea level to 2,500 feet in elevation. It can be found through the western one-third of Wisconsin, east to Michigan, south-central Ontario, southern Quebec through New Brunswick, and all of Nova Scotia. It is found throughout New England and New York. It extends south through the Appalachian Mountains to northern Alabama. The trunk of this tree is usually straight and monopodial and very rarely forked. The brownish bark is scaly and deeply fissured, especially with age. The twigs are yellow-brown and the buds are small and oval in shape. The slightly toothed delicate leaves are flat and two-ranked. The bottom of the leaves is silvery-white with two broad pores or stomatal bands and the top is shiny green. The seed cones are ovoid in shape. This tree produces both male and female cones on the same branch. It is notable for its fine-textured foliage that droops to the ground and its pyramidal shape. 

Medicinal Uses

Many Native American communities valued the eastern hemlock tree for its medicinal uses because of the tannin in its bark. Many communities brewed tea from the bark and also made ointments to treat burns and sores. The Abnaki made a decoction from the leaves to treat rheumatism and the Algonquin made a decoction of branches which they boiled down into a thick syrup or paste that they used like a poultice for arthritis. The Algonquin also made a decoction of the inner bark and used it to treat skin diseases like eczema, and tea was made of the inner bark to treat coughs and colds. The Cherokee chewed the roots for gastrointestinal issues and made a poultice of the bark to treat skin conditions. The Cherokee and Algonquin used a compound decoction as an aid in childbirth. The Chippewa pulverized the inner bark and applied it to wounds to disinfect them, they also made an infusion of twigs and drank this mixture to treat dysentery. The Delaware made a hot tea of roots and twigs and used it as a steam treatment for stiff and sore joints. The Iroquois made a decoction of leaves and bark and used it as steam for sore joints and as a foot bath. They also made a decoction of smashed needles to treat colds and fevers and to induce sweating. The Malecite made an infusion of the branches of this tree and used it to treat colds and an infusion of young buds and cones was used to treat diarrhea. The Ojibwa made tea from the leaves to flavor medicinal tea, they also used the bark as an antiseptic to treat bleeding wounds. The Potawatomi used an infusion of leaves to cause sweating to break up a cold.

Practical Uses

Among the many uses of the eastern hemlock, many Native American communities used the bark to make a dye, and some communities mixed the bark with rock dust to set the color of the dye. The color of the dye was a rosy tan. The wood was used for kindling and fuel and the inner bark was used to make baskets. Bark strips were used in the construction of wigwams. The bark was also used as a source of tannic acid used in the tanning process.

Did You Know

This tree provides shelter for wildlife in the winter because its branches bow but don't break from the snow providing cover. The oil-rich seeds found in their cones provide food for many species of birds and other wildlife.

Eastern hemlock is susceptible to fire because of its shallow roots and thin bark.

To date, the oldest recorded tree in Tionesta, Pennsylvania, is over 554 years old.

This species is currently threatened by hemlock wooly adelgid, a sap-sucking bug introduced from East Asia to the U.S. in 1924. A research project in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park is being conducted to save the largest and tallest trees remaining in the park.

The tree can be found living in association with many forest mushrooms.

In New England, the Eastern Native Tree Society has measured eastern hemlock trees growing to 138 feet.

It was introduced to British gardens in 1736 and is often used as a hedge.

American pioneers made tea from its branches and also used its branches as brooms.