The Forests of Mount Rainier National Park

by G. F. Allen

Fig. 18.—The feathery foliage of mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana), Grand Park, Mount Rainier National Park.

Photograph by A.H. Denman.

MOUNTAIN HEMLOCK (TSUGA MERTENSIANA).

The mountain hemlock ([figs. 18], [19], and [20]) is found on the Pacific coast from the Sierras of California to the northern part of Alaska where it grows at sea level. On Mount Rainier it occurs at altitudes of from 3,500 to 7,500 feet. It forms dense forests under 4,500 feet, where it is often a fair-sized tree 50 to 90 feet high. With the ascent of the mountain it diminishes in height and the branches become gnarled and twisted. Near timber line the trunk is dwarfed and bent at the base and the crown becomes a flattened mass of branches lying close to the ground ([fig. 20]).

Fig. 19.—Two solitary mountain hemlocks (Tsuga mertensiana), Spray Park, Mount Rainier National Park.

Photograph by Geo. O. Ceasar.