The tree s scarcity in northern Pennsylvania might have played a role in their decision. In 1931, Pennsylvania lawmakers were again asked to rule on a state tree. After considerable debate, the hemlock was adopted on June 22, along with a state bird. Pennsylvania s state tree is now known as the eastern hemlock. It grows in every county in Pennsylvania, but is most common in mountainous regions.
Eastern hemlocks can grow to a height of more than one hundred feet.
Hemlock was pronounced the most picturesque and beautiful of the world s evergreens by A. J. Downing, the father of landscape gardening in America. Trees growing in the open form conical crowns of dense foliage with branches down to the ground. Hemlocks are often planted as ornamentals. Washington State s official tree is the western hemlock, which can exceed two hundred feet in height. The honored plant is penngift crownvetch.