This is the state tree of Pennsylvania: a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. Tionesta, Pennsylvania, can claim the oldest recorded specimen - at least 554 years old ! The wood from the eastern hemlock is typically used for construction and for railroad ties and to make crates. Currently, the eastern hemlock is threatened by the wooly adelgid, an invasive  sap-sucking bug from East Asia.  Few hemlocks survive an attack by the wooly adelgids, although harsh winters have temporarily killed off these invasive insects in most of Pennsylvania.