DENDROLOGY. 



307 



Downy Lime Tree. Tilia pubescens. 



plate XCVII. 

 Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2 The fruit. 



The Downy Lime Tree 

 belongs to the southern parts 

 of the United States and the 

 Floridas. It grows of pref- 

 erence on the borders of 

 rivers and large marshes, 

 where the soil is cool and 

 fertile, but not exposed to 

 inundation. It is little mul- 

 tiplied, and consequently, is 

 not taken notice of by the 

 inhabitants ; for this reason, 

 and because it is the only 

 species of its kind in the 

 maritime parts of the Caro- 

 linas and of Georgia, it has 

 received no specific denom- 

 ination, and is simply called Lime Tree, to which we have added 

 the epithet Downy, derived from a character of its foliage not 

 observed in the preceding species. 



This tree is 40 or 50 feet high with a proportionate diameter. 

 In its general appearance it resembles the American lime tree, 

 which grows farther north, more than the white lime tree, which 

 belongs to the Middle and Western States. Its leaves differ 

 widely in size according to the exposure in which they have 

 grown ; in dry and open places they are only two inches in 

 diameter, and are twice as large in cool and shaded situations. 

 They are rounded, pointed at the summit, very obliquely truncated 

 at the base, edged with fewer and more remote teeth than those 

 of the other lime trees, and very downy beneath. The flowers, 

 which appear in June, also, are more numerous and form larger 

 bunches, and the seeds are round and downy. 



The wood is very similar to that of the other species, and is 

 seldom appropriated to any use in the arts.' 



