HARDWOOD RECORD 



AMERICAN FOREST TREES. 



Basswood. 

 Tilia <i — Linn. 



Basswood is indiscriminately known as 



American linden and m int.- u I. It is of 



the linden or Tiliacea family. Its rang 

 growl m New Brunswick to Virginia 



and along the Appalachian ra _ th to 



Georgia and Alabama, westward through 

 Canada to i stern shore of Lake - 



,.tli shore of Lake 

 Winnipeg and to the Assiniboin 



in the United State 

 eastern 1 takol a, eastern Nebi 

 Kansas. Indian Territorj and east 

 era Texas. 



Besides the ordinary names of 

 basswood, American linden and 

 white wood, in varii ons it 



is called by quite a \ arietj of 

 names. Throughout Maine, New 

 Hampshire, Virginia, Rhode Csl 

 Massachusetts, ' onni cl icut, New 

 ^ ' , . i- k . New Jersey, Delaware, Penn- 

 sylvania, West Virginia, North 



.I.-,. South Carolina 

 Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, 

 Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, I 



ana, Iowa, Wis isin, Michi 



Ohio, Ontario, Nebraska, Kansas, 

 Minnesota and North Dakota, i1 is 



usually known as bassw 1. In 



parts of Maine, New STork, I.' 

 Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 

 Delaware, North Carolina, Missis 

 sippi, i (hio, Illinois. \, l i 

 North Dakota, Ontario and Min 

 nesota, it is called American lin- 

 dei in pai ts of Pennsylvania, 

 \ i , _ iiu.-i. West Virginia, Alabama, 



iana, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, 



iri, Iowa, Kansas. Nebraska, 



Wisconsin and South Dakota, it is 



referred to as linn. In parts of 



ont, Rhode Island, Pennsylva- 

 nia, Wesl Virginia, Nebraska and 

 .Minnesota it is sometimes called 



linden. In ol hei sei I - of Ethodi 



Island, North Carolina, southern 

 Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana 

 and Illinois, limetree is the 



vailing name of the w I. In 



■ mt, Wesl 



Ai kansas and « Intai io, « bite w 1 



ime for it. In I 

 districts of parts of Vermont, West 

 Virginia and Mississippi it is 

 known as the beetree. In Tennes- i •.. i 



see it i- sometimes called black 



■ ee. In Denni ssee, 



i he si 



In West Virginia it is often called the ■ 

 lind. In Massachusetts il is occasionally 

 known as the wickup tree, and in Indiana 

 as tin yellow basswood and l<i n, and in 

 other i'p>\ i he whist l™ i 



The tree in wtb is round, 



NINTH PAPER 



tly tapering toward the summit; it 



jrht from 80 to 120 feet, and 



in mature growth from two and a half to as 



high ■ even eigl . diameter 



at the stump. It M ns in May or June, 



tg on latitude. As will be seen by 



th< sketch of the II n and foliage aci 



pan ying this article, the tree is very bi 

 ful in its spring garment. 



■Ii AI. FOREST BASSWOOD GROWTH, NORTHERN 

 WISCONSIN 



e bark is dark brown and deeply ridged 

 vertically, spreading into thin scales. I 

 branches are light graj or brown, terminat- 

 ing in green. The leave- an foui oi five 

 inches long; simple; alternate; slender 

 petioled; round in outline with abruptly and 

 picuouslj pointed apex and cordate base. 

 i n. side of t lie leaf is generally less di 

 ope. I than the other. It is sharply and ir- 



regularly toothed; dark green; smooth and 

 glossj above; pubescent underneath and es- 

 lly so in the angles of the light-colored 

 and prominent ribs. 



The flowers are cream-colored and 

 fragrant, growing under the leaves in 

 a cyme on a long slender peduncle that 

 bangs from the .enter of the midrib of 

 leaf-like axillary bract which is apple- 

 jrreen, lam eolate and smooth. The 

 s.pals are five in number and pu- 

 bescent; they have five petals and 

 numerous stamens adhering in 

 .dusters of five to a petal-like scale 

 h petal. The fruit is 

 nish-gray in color, round, downy 

 and resembling small peas when 

 g ; the style and five toothed 

 Stigma projects from its top; the 

 arc ten in number. 

 A lice Lounsl erry, in her charm- 

 ing work. ■• \ Guide to the Trees," 

 has this to say about the beauty 



of I assu I. either in Idoom or in 



fruit: 



■ A bright but unfortunately un- 

 known poet has said that 'the love- 

 liest rose in the world is oppor- 

 tunity.' And it is opportunity 

 which we must court when study- 

 ing t he t rei s. I rsuallj it is a mis- 

 to pass one by, .specially 

 when it i> in I. loom, with the 

 thought thai we will study it when 

 later we return. Later our path 



lead us into unexj te.l places, 



where we shall find ons. Ives en- 

 grossed by other things; and when, 

 lan.e. we do return to the tree 

 1 hat we ha \ • I .a a.- in mind, we 

 see that its blossoms have perished 

 and a new order of things is in 

 progress. 



' • Either in bloom oi in fruit the 

 American linden is an interesting 

 study. It appears 1.. be hung with 

 two distinct shades ..f green; the 

 dark green of .ts leaves and the 

 shimmering, light apple-green of 

 il- curious bracts. The dainty, lit- 

 tle blossoms tali early in the sea- 



SOn, and their place is taken I iy 



in.-i ii \ precise, pert-looking balls of 

 fruit. Finally . t lie bracts l"s,. their 

 color, become scale like and gradu- 

 ally fall. 'Ih. carpet they then 



spread under the trees and the out- 

 flying ei.e- aie all that remain in 

 lie autumn to testify that anything unusual 

 'lined. ' ' 



Tin _ P growth of TOia Amer- 



iv confined to the United States and 

 to the provinces "•' Ontario, New Brunswick 

 and Quebec. 



Tic recorded weight varies from twenty- 

 six to forty-five pounds, but the average 

 i is about thirty pounds per cubic 



