TILIACEAE 



American Basswood. Linden 

 Tilia americana L. {Tilia glabra Vent.) 



HABIT. A medium-sized tree 60-80 feet high and 2-3 feet 

 in diameter (max. 125 by 4^2 feet); dense, rounded crown. 



LEAVES. Alternate; simple; deciduous; 5-6 inches long; 

 broadly ovate; coarsely serrate; unequally heart-shaped base; 

 glabrous; dull dark green above, paler beneath; petioles slender, 

 1-2 inches long. 



FLOWERS. Regular; perfect; in loose cymes, the long stalk 

 attached to a leafy bract for half its length ; yellow-white ; fragrant ; 

 5 sepals; 5 petals; many stamens; 5-celled ovary; appearing 

 after the leaves. 



FRUIT. A gray, globose, woolly, nutlike drupe Vi-Vi inch 

 long; in cymes and attached to leafy persistent bracts. 



TWIGS. Generally rather slender; green to red-gray, becom- 

 ing dark gray. Winter buds: terminal absent, lateral subglo- 

 bose, acute, red, lopsided, 14 inch long, with 2 scales usually 

 visible. 



BARK. Smooth and gray-green on young trunks, becoming 

 thick, dark gray, furrowed, with narrow, scaly ridges. 



WOOD. Important; light; soft; fine-textured; diffuse-porous; 

 used for novelties, patterns, excelsior, containers, etc. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Tolerant; moist sites; abundant 

 seed produced; sprouts vigorously; rapid growth; mixed hard- 

 woods; deep lateral roots; prized as source of honey. 



GENERAL. Some authors have recognized as many as 16 

 native species of Tilia, the differences being minor and variable. 

 Four species are tentatively accepted in the 1953 checklist, with 

 T. caroliniana Mill, and T. floridana Small being unimportant 

 trees in the southeast. White basswood, T. heterophylla Vent., is 

 an important tree differing from American basswood by having 

 leaves which are woolly on the lower surface and by having 10-25 

 flowers in a cluster; this species grows from New York to southern 

 Illinois and south. 



Several European species are planted for ornamental purposes, 

 the most common being the European linden, T. vulgaris Hayne, 

 and the small-leaved linden, T. cordata Mill. 



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