THYMEL^A TILIA 589 



series of four, inserted near the apex of the calyx-tube ; very shortly 

 stalked. 



Native of the Pyrenees. A pleasing little evergreen for the rock 

 garden, flowering abundantly in March. It is closely allied to the 

 Daphnes, and has the same supple, tough shoots and corolla-like calyx. 

 It has no true corolla. It is quite hardy in the rock garden at Kew. 

 Closely allied to and sometimes regarded as a variety of T. tinctoria, 

 Endlicher. 



TILIA. LIME or LINDEN. TILIACE^E. 



A genus of about thirty species of large or medium-sized, deciduous 

 trees, with more or less zigzagged young shoots ; winter buds prominent. 

 The inner bark is tough and fibrous, and that of some species is used 

 for making rough ropes and mats. Leaves alternate, but set in two 

 opposite rows on the branches, toothed, usually heart-shaped at the base. 

 Flowers produced in summer on the shoots of the current year, in axillary, 

 slender, long-stalked cymes. One of the most characteristic features of 

 the genus is the large membranous bract, several inches long, to whose 

 midrib the lower part (sometimes more than half) of the main flower- 

 stalk is united, thus giving it the appearance of rising directly from the 

 centre of the bract. The flowers are very uniform in the limes, being 

 fragrant, -g- to f in. across, dull or yellowish white. Sepals and petals five. 

 In several species (all the American ones) there are also five petal-like 

 scales to which the base of the stamens is united. Fruit dry, nut-like, 

 about the size of a pea, usually one-seeded. 



The limes belong to the North Temperate Zone, but do not occur 

 in western N. America or the Himalaya. They are all thriving trees 

 in gardens, preferring a rich moist soil. Such species as euchlora and 

 petiolaris ought to replace to a great extent the common lime. The 

 American species are not of much account with us, but some of the 

 Asiatic ones, like T. Oliveri, are promising. 



As with all forest trees, the limes should, if possible, be raised 

 from seed. Failing that, they may be raised from layers, or, in the case 

 of named varieties, by grafts. Grafted plants, however, frequently make 

 very unshapely trees. The graft is taken, as a rule, from side branches, 

 with the distichous (or two-ranked) arrangement alluded to above. The 

 leading shoot often retains this character for many years, and shows a 

 tendency to grow horizontally rather than erect. Often, too, the stock 

 grows in thickness less quickly than the scion, or vice versa, with the 

 result that there is formed an unsightly break in the trunk. 



There has been considerable confusion in gardens over the nomen- 

 clature of the limes, largely due to a great number of hybrid or inter- 

 mediate types. They interbreed with great facility under brighter skies 

 than ours. 



A selection of the best limes would include the following : euchlora^ 

 petiolaris^ platyphyllos, tomentosa, and Moltkei. Of a smaller type are 

 cordata, platyphyllos var. asplenifolia, and mongolica. 



