Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Tsuga caroliniana
Introductory
SPECIES: Tsuga caroliniana
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Coladonato, Milo 1993. Tsuga caroliniana. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/tsucar/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
TSUCAR
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
TSCA2
COMMON NAMES :
Carolina hemlock
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name of Carolina hemlock is Tsuga
caroliniana Engelm. [12]. There are no recognized subspecies,
varieties, or forms.
LIFE FORM :
Tree
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
Carolina hemlock is listed as rare in its natural range [11].
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Tsuga caroliniana
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Carolina hemlock has a very limited distribution. It occurs along the
slopes of the Appalachian Mountains from southwestern Virginia and
western North Carolina into South Carolina and northern Georgia
[6,8,22].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES14 Oak - pine
FRES15 Oak - hickory
STATES :
GA NC SC TN VA
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
NO-ENTRY
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K104 Appalachian oak forest
K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
44 Chestnut oak
58 Yellow-poplar - eastern hemlock
59 Yellow-poplar - white oak - northern red oak
78 Virginia pine - oak
87 Sweet gum - yellow-poplar
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Tsuga caroliniana
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
The wood of Carolina hemlock can be used for lumber or pulpwood, but the
species is so limited in extent that it is not considered commercially
important [6,16].
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
The seeds of Carolina hemlock are an important food for a number of
birds and mammals. Beaver, and occasionally porcupine and rabbit, eat
the bark [6,18]. The foliage is occasionally browsed by white-tailed
deer in the winter [1].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
Carolina hemlock and eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) stands are
considered essential for shelter and bedding of white-tailed deer during
the winter [6].
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Carolina hemlock is often planted as an ornamental. Tannin from the
bark of Carolina hemlock was formerly extracted for use in processing
leather [7,16].
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Information concerning management practices for Carolina hemlock is
lacking. However, management practices for the very similair species
eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) have been outlined [6].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Tsuga caroliniana
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Carolina hemlock is a native, slow-growing, coniferous, evergreen tree
usually 40 to 70 feet (12-21 m) tall and 8 to 12 inches (20-30 cm) in
d.b.h. [4,8,15]. Heights of 150 to 180 feet (46-55 m) and diameters of
5 to 6 feet (1.5-1.8 m) have been reported [8].
Carolina hemlock has a long slender trunk and a narrow crown of slightly
drooping branches. The leaf blades spread from the twig in all
directions. The cones are 1.0 to 1.5 inches (2.5-3.8 cm) long, and the
seeds are the longest of any of the native hemlocks [18]. The bark on
younger trees is flaky and scaly and on older trees, deeply furrowed.
The root system is shallow and spreading [2,6,8].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Seed production and dissemination: Carolina hemlock begins producing
seed at about age 20, but good crops do not occur until the trees are
are 25 and 30 years. The lightweight seed are wind dispersed. Carolina
hemlock seed averages of 187,000 seeds per pound (415,000/kg) [14,16].
Vegetative Reproduction: Like other hemlocks Carolina hemlock does not
sprout and only rarely layers. Vegetative propagation by cuttings and
grafting are limited to ornamental production [6].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Carolina hemlock is common on rocky slopes and ridges of the Appalachian
Mountains at elevations between 2,100 and 4,000 feet (400-1,220 m)
[7,8]. Typically, most soils are very acidic (between 3.5-4.5 pH), but
some are near neutral. The heavy, slowly decomposing litter fosters
podzolization as the stand increases in age [7,8].
Other associates of Carolina hemlock in addition to the cover type
species are eastern hemlock (T. canadensis), Carolina silverbell
(Halesia carolina), American holly (Ilex opaca), mountain rosebay
(Rhododendron catawbiense), mountain-laurel (Kalmia latifolia), and oak
(Quercus spp.) [7,8,9].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Obligate Climax Species
Carolina hemlock is very shade tolerant. It will gradually replace
earlier established species and become dominant in very late stages of
succession. Carolina hemlock can be considered a climax species because
it is difficult for other species to invade and grow under its canopy [7].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Carolina hemlock pollination occurs from March to the end of April. The
cones ripen from late August to late September of the next year; the
seed is dispersed from September through the winter [18].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Tsuga caroliniana
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Currently, very little information on the fire ecology of Carolina
hemlock is available in the literature. Starker [19,20] lists other
species of hemlock as having an intermediate resistance to fire.
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Tree without adventitious-bud root crown
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Tsuga caroliniana
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Presumably, seedlings and saplings of Carolina hemlock are killed by
fire.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Carolina hemlock is favored by fire suppression. Humphrey [7] reports
that the slow-growing Carolina hemlock will have time to develop a
mature population only on sites where fire is infrequent.
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Tsuga caroliniana
REFERENCES :
1. Conover, M. R.; Kania, G. S. 1988. Browsing preference of white-tailed
deer for different ornamental species. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 16:
175-179. [8933]
2. Duncan, Wilbur H.; Duncan, Marion B. 1988. Trees of the southeastern
United States. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 322 p.
[12764]
3. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
4. Fernald, Merritt Lyndon. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. [Corrections
supplied by R. C. Rollins]. Portland, OR: Dioscorides Press. 1632 p.
(Dudley, Theodore R., gen. ed.; Biosystematics, Floristic & Phylogeny
Series; vol. 2). [14935]
5. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
6. Godman, R. M.; Lancaster, Kenneth. 1990. Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.
eastern hemlock. In: Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., technical
coordinators. Silvics of North America. Volume 1. Conifers. Agric.
Handb. 654. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service: 604-612. [13421]
7. Humphrey, L. David. 1989. Life history traits of Tsuga caroliniana
Engelm. (Carolina hemlock) and its role in community dynamics. Castanea.
54(3): 172-190. [19840]
8. James, R. L. 1943. Carolina hemlock--wild and cultivated. Castanea. 24:
112-134. [19841]
9. Komarek, Edwin V., Sr. 1979. Fire: control, ecology, and management. In:
Fire management in the northern environment: Proceedings of symposium;
1976 October 19-21; Anchorage, AK. BLM/AK/PROC-79/01. Anchorage, AK:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management: 48-78.
[15391]
10. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
11. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1975. Rare and local conifers in the United
States. Conservation Research Rep. No. 19. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 25 p. [15691]
12. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native
and naturalized). Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 375 p. [2952]
13. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession
following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall
Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council
fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No.
14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496]
14. Owens, John N.; Molder, Marje. 1975. Sexual reproduction of mountain
hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana). Canadian Journal of Botany. 53: 1811-1826.
[19164]
15. Radford, Albert E.; Ahles, Harry E.; Bell, C. Ritchie. 1968. Manual of
the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of
North Carolina Press. 1183 p. [7606]
16. Randall, Charles Edgar. 1968. Enjoying our trees. Washington, DC: The
American Forestry Association. 122 p. [1933]
17. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
18. Ruth, Robert H. 1974. Tsuga (Endl.) Carr. hemlock. In: Schopmeyer, C.
S., ed. Seeds of woody plants in the United States. Agric. Handb. 450.
Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 819-827.
[7770]
19. Starker, T. J. 1932. Fire resistance of trees of northeast United
States. Forest Worker. 8(3): 8-9. [81]
20. Starker, T. J. 1934. Fire resistance in the forest. Journal of Forestry.
32: 462-467. [82]
21. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
22. Van Dersal, William R. 1938. Native woody plants of the United States,
their erosion-control and wildlife values. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Agriculture. 362 p. [4240]
FEIS Home Page
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/tsucar/all.html
