Tsuga diversifolia

Northern Japanese hemlock, or Japanese hemlock is in the pine or Pinaceae family and is native to the Japanese islands of Honshu, Kyūshu, and Shikoku. It grows to a height of about 25 m, at higher elevations.

• Tree crown is narrow, dense and conical, becoming rounded with age.
• Needle-like leaves are flat, up to 0.5–1.5 cm long, spirally arranged but appearing 2-ranked. Upper side of leaf is grooved, dark green, glossy and underside is lighter colour with 2 white bands of stomata; apex (tip of leaf) is notched, petioles are crooked.
• Species is monoecious; pollen (staminate) cones are dark purple, 3-4 mm long, pale green, with centers and margins a deep purple. Seed (pistillate) cones are cylindric-ovoid, non-fragmenting, pendulous, nearly sessile (no stems) cones 1.8–2.8 cm long by 1 cm wide, originally green but maturing to dark brown. Scales are lightly convex and ridged.
• Young shoots are short, bright orange to red-brown; buds are ovoid, deep purple-red; bark is an orange-brown in colour, shallowly fissured and vertically peeling.