| General Description | Tsuga heterophylla is an evergreen tree with a trunk up to 2 m in diameter, horizontal branches that droop at the tips, thick bark and flat needles. |
| Shape | The crown is regular conical in form. |
| Cultivation | Very tolerant of shade. |
| Bark/Stem Description | Thick and purple-brown. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | Young branches are covered with long slender hairs (villi), red-brown above, yellowish-beige beneath, becoming dark brown. |
| Leaf Description | Needle-like, 5 - 23 ⨉ 1.5 - 2 mm, strongly flattened in cross-section, with a finely serrated margin and bluntly acute apex, dull bright green above; the underside has two distinctive white bands of stomata. Loosely arranged. |
| Fruit Description | Cones are 1.5 - 3 cm long with 15 - 25 thin, flexible scales 7 - 13 mm long. Immature cones are green, maturing to grey-brown 5 - 7 months after pollination. |
