DOWNY BASSWOOD; LINDEN (Tilia pubescens, Ait.). 30 to 

 40 feet. Small tree with slender branches and rusty-pubescent 

 twigs. Bark scaly on ridges between parallel fissures. Red- 

 dish brown. Wood light brown, close-grained, soft. Leaves 

 ovate, acuminate, unsymmetrical at base, 4 to 5 inches long, 

 hoary tomentose when they unfold, becoming at maturity 

 dark, smooth or pubescent above, rusty-downy beneath, 2 to 3 

 inches wide, on short stalks. Flowers in May, creamy, hairy, 

 fragrant, clustered on winged stems. Fruit globular, or 

 oblong nuts j to ^ inch in diameter, rusty-hairy. Dist.: 

 North Carolina to Florida, near coast, and around the Gulf 

 to Texas; then north into Arkansas. Not a common forest 

 tree. 



European lindens are successfully grown in parks in this 

 country, the native species being but sparingly cultivated. 

 Three fine species have silvery, silky leaf linings. The com- 

 mon linden of the Old World has dainty leaves, and is a hand- 

 somer tree here than our broad-leaved T. Americana. The 

 bloom of the immigrant species is more abundant than that of 

 the native kinds. 



