Hogan Journal: Ode to a Hemlock

By Dennis Lantz

I know the title makes it sound as if there is poetry involved. There isn't. When we were in Gentlewoods I sat beneath these beautiful trees and thought often of writing a poem about them. But I never did.

Ode to a Hemlock is the headline I wrote in 1995... so it stays.

5/18- Hemlock: a great tree. I’ve written before of its use in the construction of the hogan, and, perhaps how it can be burned for a quick hot fire. It’s readily available dead lower limbs are excellent for starting fires. Hemlock doesn’t crackle as much as pine and it sets a nice bed of coals for a “softer” wood.

But its appeal isn’t only in its fire or construction properties. The young needles steeped as a tea are supposed to be good (Note: I tried these later and enjoyed it immensely. Of course when you tell people that you drank hemlock tea they immediately think of Socrates and how hemlock is poison. This is an entirely different plant).

I’ve chewed its inner bark and it tastes like tablet paper. A porcupine might enjoy the taste, but I didn’t. I read it is supposed to be an emergency food source. I’ve chewed on the needles for enjoyment and to clean my breath. I break clumps of the needles and place them in a bowl so that their wonderful scent can fill the room. I have used the branches as a scouring pad to clean my pots and pans.

The needles are excellent for de-scenting or at least covering the scent of my hunting clothes. If you put a tree stand in a hemlock tree, you don’t need climbing spikes or ladders because they have many limbs. But one does have to be careful not to use the dead ones or, if you do use the dead ones, at least step as close to the tree trunk as possible.

When it comes to climbing trees for pleasure, none can compare.

The boughs make nice bedding. We have some on the floor of the hogan to sit upon.

Throwing sticks are easy to fashion from the dead limbs as they break not too easily and not too hard. These branches are easily sharpened for tools to dig roots or to build fire pits. There is tannin in the bark that can be utilized for tanning. I have used the bark to dye leather.

The crackling of the wood upon the fire is the quintessential camping experience. The needles thrown upon the hot rocks of the sweat lodge throw off a heavenly scent. The hemlock can also provide quick shelter during a rain storm. Animals and birds, from the porcupine to the grouse, spend much of their days around the tree. As I have written before, the upper branches also provide a common roost for turkey.

But perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of the hemlock is its dark green beauty in stark contrast against brown, red bark and tangles of light green briars and last year’s assortment of tan and brown leaves. Its shapes are many, but the tall young saplings intermixed with the “filled” out adults create a landscape like no other. It is a beautiful tree.

If there were any plant I’d wish to come back as it would be a hemlock.

For more information about the Eastern Hemlock, check out Wikipedia's page here.

For images, check here.

Until next time,

Read, Learn, Live