Issued January 19, 1907. 



United States Department of Agriculture, 



FOREST SERVICE Circular 63. 



GIFFORD PINCHOT, Forester. 



FOREST PLANTING LEAFL . . 



Division of Forest 

 BASSWOOD (Tilia americana). University of Calif or 



FORM AND SIZE. 



The basswood is a forest tree which often attains a height of 70 to 

 80 feet, and a diameter of 2 feet. Under favorable conditions it may 

 be considerably larger. When grown free the tree bears a large, com- 

 pact crown, which makes a dense shade ; in the forest it has a straight 

 stem with but few branches, which are closely clustered at the top. 

 The inner bark (bast), from w T hich the tree gets its name, is fibrous 

 and tough. 



RANGE. 



The natural range of the basswood is from New Brunswick south 

 along the Allegheny Mountains to Alabama, and westward to eastern 

 Texas, Nebraska, and southern Minnesota. The tree is commonest 

 about the Great Lakes but attains its best development on the bottom 

 lands of the Ohio River, where it is associated with white oak, cotton- 

 wood, white ash, black walnut, and hickories. It may be planted on 

 good soils almost anywhere within its natural range; though the 

 most favorable region for economic planting is within the North- 

 eastern States and north of the Ohio River. 



SILVICAL QUALITIES. 



The basswood is best suited to deep, rich, river bottom soils, and to 

 cool situations. While it will maintain itself on poorer uplands, it is 

 recommended for planting only where the soil is moist and well 

 drained and where droughts are infrequent. It is, in general, a 

 hardy tree. It is moderately tolerant of shade, and the seedlings re- 

 quire some protection from the hot sun. In dry situations it is sub- 

 ject to injury from the sun's heat. 



The rate of growth is fairly rapid during early age, being about the 

 same as that of red oak and Norway maple. After attaining ma- 

 turity the trunk frequently becomes hollow. 



The basswood is sometimes attacked by insects, which denude it of 

 leaves or bore into the bark, but serious damage is not frequent. The 



16767 No. 6307 M 



