True firs, hemlock and yew all have flat single needles. The cones and the needle bases tell them apart. Douglas-fir has its own page.
Identifying fir, hemlock and yew
Scientific name: Abies, Tsuga, Taxus
True firs
- Flat, soft needles with blunt tips, attached by a round base that leaves a smooth round scar.
- Cones stand upright on the branch and break apart there.
- Many have smooth bark with resin blisters when young.
Common firs
- Balsam fir (Abies balsamea): a northern tree; aromatic; a favourite Christmas tree.
- Fraser fir (A. fraseri): grown for Christmas trees; native to a few southern Appalachian mountains.
- Grand, noble and white firs of the west.
Hemlock
Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) has short flat needles on tiny stalks, with two white lines beneath, and small hanging cones about 2 cm long. It grows in cool, shady, moist places. The tree has no connection to the poison hemlock plant. Hemlock woolly adelgid is killing eastern hemlocks.
Yew
Yew (Taxus) has flat needles, but no woody cone: the seed sits in a red fleshy cup. The foliage and seed are poisonous. Yew is a common hedge and churchyard tree in Britain, where common yew (Taxus baccata) can live for thousands of years.
Fir or spruce?
Roll the needle. Square and sharp means spruce. Flat and soft means fir. Look at the cones: upright means fir, hanging means spruce or Douglas-fir.