EUROPEAN LIME-TREE. 41 



tree. This variety differs from the common broad-leaved Hme m no other respect 

 than in the yellow colour of its twigs. 



7. T. E. DASYSTYLA. Hciinj-siyled European Lime-tree. This variety is de- 

 scribed as having petals without scales ; leaves smooth, somewhat hairy at the 

 base beneath ; axils of veins bearded ; style tomentose. 



S. T. E. ALBA, Loudon. White-leaved European Lime-tree, in England : 77^- 

 leul hlanc, in France ; Weisse Linde, in Germany. Each of the petals of this 

 variety has a scale at the base, inside ; the leaves are cordate, somewhat acumi- 

 nated, and rather unequal at the base, serrated, clothed with white down be- 

 neath, but smooth above, and four times longer than the petioles : the fruit is 

 ovate, with five obscure ribs. This tree is at once distinguishable from all other 

 varieties by the white appearance of its foliage, even at a considerable distance, 

 and by the strikingly snowy hue of its leaves, when ruffled by the wind. Its 

 wood and shoots resemble those of the common lime : but it does not attain the 

 same height. There is a good specimen of this tree at Walton, upon the 

 Thames, sixty feet high ; and several others at High Clere, in Berkshire, some 

 of which, in forty years, have attained a height of upwards of sixty feet. 



9. T. E. ALBA PETioLARis. Loudou. Lon g-petioled-leaved European Lime-tree. 

 This tree is described by De Candolle from dried specimens, without flower or 

 fruit, and is probably only a sub-variety of T. e. alba. 



There is another variety, with varigated leaves, but it is such a ragged, ill- 

 looking plant, that it is not deemed worthy of culture. 



Geography and History. The Tilia europaea appears to be confined to the 

 central and northern parts of Europe. It is found wild in northern Germany, 

 Denmark, Sweden, Bohemia, and, according to Pallas, throughout the whole of 

 Russia, and a great part of Siberia. According to Watson, it is common all over 

 Britain, and in the south-western, north-eastern, and north-western counties of 

 Ireland. The T. e. platyphylla is said to inhabit Sweden, and most parts of 

 Europe, as far south as the Alpine regions of Switzerland, and Spain. The 

 T. e. microphylla appears to be indigenous chiefly in the north of Germany, in 

 Sweden, and Russia ; also in the south-eastern and north-eastern counties of Eng 

 land, and north-western counties of Scotland. At Shawley. eight miles north- 

 west from Worcester, England, there is a wood of about five hundred acres in 

 extent, the greater part of the undergrowth of which, is of this variety. So 

 extensive a tract in Britain, covered with the linden, strongly tends to prove 

 that this tree is truly indigenous. It is said, however, that the lime seldom, if 

 ever, ripens its seeds in England, which would operate unfavourably to its repro- 

 duction. The T. e. alba is found in the woods in Hungary, where it is rare, 

 and also near Constantinople, whence it was introduced into England m 1767, 

 and planted at Mile End. 



The European lime-tree has long been cultivated for ornament and shade, 

 both in the United States and in the British American provinces. 



The lime-tree appears to have been known to the Greeks and Romans. Theo- 

 phrastus. Homer, Horace, Virgil, Columella, and Pliny mention it, and celebrate 

 its bark and wood. According to Theophrastus, it is of both sexes, which are 

 totally diflerent as to form : probably referring to the small-leaved and large- 

 leaved varieties. The leaves, he says, are sweet, and are used as food for most 

 kinds of cattle. This tree was highly esteemed by the Romans for its shade ; 

 and, according to Pliny, for the numerous uses to which its wood might be applied. 

 In modern times, the lime-tree was one of the first to attract the attention of 

 dendrological writers previously to the time of Linnaeus, who describes only two 

 species, Tilia europaea and americana. M. Ventenat, in 179S, described three 

 European species, and three American ones : and De Candolle has described ten. 

 Evelyn, speaking of the lime-tree, says, '' It is a shameful negligence that we are 



