24 FLOWERS OF THE WOODS AND COPSES 



Lime or Linden (Tilia vulgaris, Hayne) 



This tree has not been found fossil in Britain, but in the Pine and 

 Oak Zones in S. Sweden. It is found in the North Temperate Zone 

 in Europe and the Caucasus. The Common Lime, as is suggested by 

 its absence from any deposits where fossil seeds and fruits have been 

 discovered, as well as by its history, is not truly aboriginal, and its 

 distribution is dependent upon planting. It is, however, well dispersed. 



I.i ME (Tilia vulgaris, L. ) SHOWING DROOPING FOI.IAGK 



The Common Lime has been requisitioned for forming plantations 

 for many centuries, but was doubtless introduced here. Where it is 

 not found forming plantations it is planted in and around gardens and 

 in parks to create a landscape effect, and may be found in most country 

 districts, as well as in towns, where it thrives, but it is often superseded 

 by other species of Lime. 



The Lime has the tree habit. The trunk may exceptionally reach 

 a height of i 20 ft. The bole is thick. The branches are spreading, 

 hanging down at the extremities. The twigs are hairless. The leaf 

 buds are drooping at first; if horizontal, they would be more exposed to 

 cold. The leaves are thin, membranous, light transparent green, twice 

 as long as the leaf-stalks, rounded to heart-shaped, unequal at the base, 

 hairless, except at the branching of the veins below where there are 



