﻿Trees of New York State 307 



TILIACEAE 



Tilia aniericjuia L. [Tilia glabra Vent.] 



Basswood, American Linden 



Habit — A valuable timber tree, generally 60-70 feet in height with a trunk 

 1-3 feet in diameter, under favorable conditions sometimes j20 feet tall 

 and 4I/2 feet in diameter. Bole straight, continuous into the crown, bear- 

 ing slender, lateral branches which form a dense, ovoid crown. In the 

 open the lower branches are pendulous and reach within a few feet of thtj 

 ground. Forest grown specimens have straight, columnar trunks and high 

 crowns. 



Leaves — Alternate, broadly ovate to oval, .5-10 inches long, abruptly acumin- 

 ate at the apex, cordate and inequilateral at the base, coarsely serrate 

 with incurved, glandular teeth, at maturity thick, dark green lustrous and 

 glabrous above, paler and glabrous below aside from tufts of brown hairs 

 in the axils of the prominent veins, borne on slender petioles 1^/^-2 inches 

 in length. 



Flowers — Appearing in early July after the leaves, perfect, fragrant, yel- 

 lowish white, borne in drooping, cymose clusters on long peduncles which 

 are united for about half their length with conspicuous pale green bracts. 

 Sepals o, lanceolate, pubescent, about Y^ of an inch long. Petals 5, lanceo- 

 late, longer than the sepals, with a spatulate staminode at the base. 

 Stamens numerous, hypogynous, shorter than the petals, collected in '> 

 groups one of which is inserted at the base of each staminode. Pistil con- 

 sisting of a sessile, pubescent globose. 5-celled ovary ciowiied by an erect 

 style bearing a 5-lobed stigma at the tip. 



Fruit — An ovoid, obscurely ribbed, apiculate, tawny -brown, pubescent, woody, 

 nut-like drupe, about the size of a pea, borne in cymose clusters on a long 

 stalk attached at the base to the persistent, leafy bract, usually persist- 

 ing on the trees far into the winter. Fruiting bract usually tapering or 

 stalked at the base. Drupe 1-celled and usually 1-seeded Ijy abortion. 

 Seed broadly ovoid, about Vk of '"^n inch long. 



Winter characters — Twigs rather slender, zigzag, glabrous, lustrous, bright 

 red. becoming olive-red or covered with a gray, evanescent skin the second 

 season, marked with scattered, oblong lenticels. Terminal bud lacking. 

 Lateral buds ovate, acute, lopsided, divergent, dark red or greenish red, 

 smooth or somewhat pubescent at the Jipex, Vs-Tf, of an inch long. 

 A'isible bud-scales. 2-3. thick, rounded at the back, inserted separately. 

 Mature bark thick, light brown, divided by deep fissures into rounded, 

 anastomosing ridges which are scaly at the surface. Bark on young 

 stems dark gray and smooth. 



Habitat — In ricli woods and Ic^amy soils usually in admixture with otlu'v 

 species. Thrives in moist, fertile, bottom-land forests. 



Range — New Brunswick westward through southern Canada to Manitoba, 

 southward in tlic rnited States to Georgia and eastern Texas. Zones A. 

 B. and C. 



Uses — A valuable timber species. Wood light, soft, mcMlcratcly strong, fine 

 textured and even-grained, light brown to nearly white, with thick, scarcely 

 distinguishable sapwood. Fsed extensively for crating, (dieap furniture, 

 wagons, woodenware, drawing boards, trunks, etc., where a soft, tough, 

 easily worked wood is desirable. Small (|uantities are manufactured into 

 paper pulji and e.xcelsior. The (lowers are nectariferous and are eagerly 

 sought by honey bees. The inner bark is tibroiis and mucilaginous and is 

 sometimes manufactured into cordage. The tree possesses orimmental 

 value and is to be rcM'oniintMidcd for planting in the nortli(M-ii states. 



