Downy Basswood 



689 



the bracts of the peduncles are decurrcnt upon them to within from i to 3 cm. of 

 their base; they are spatulate, 8 to 14 cm. long, i to 2.5 cm. wide, usually tapering 

 at the base, somewhat rounded at the apex, the lower surface sHghlly hairy. The 

 smooth peduncles are free from the bracts for 4 to 5 cm., and bear 8 to 15 large, 

 hght yellow flowers; the sepals are narrowly ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 4.5 to 6 

 mm. long; the petals are eUiptic, 6 to 10 mm. long, slightly larger than the spatu- 

 late staminodes. The globose fruit is 6 to 8 mm. long. 



This tree is distinguished from the American linden by its large white-woolly 

 leaves and the smoother, lighter colored bark of the branches. Our statement of 

 the economic appHcations of the American linden is equally appHcable to this 

 species, while as an ornamental tree its larger silvery leaves and larger and later 

 flowers are additional merits. 



7. DOWNY BASSWOOD Tiliapubescens Aiton 



A small tree, also called the Southern basswood, seldom exceeding 15 meters in 

 height, with a trunk diameter of 3 to 5 dm. It occurs in moist, rich woods, usually 

 near the coast, from Virginia south to Florida and westward to Louisiana. It is no- 

 where very abundant, but is most common in South Carolina and Georgia. The re- 

 ports of its being found as far north as Long island 

 are based on a misunderstanding of the species. 



The bark is 12 to 16 mm. thick, coarsely fur- 

 rowed and broken into reddish brown scales. The 

 season's twigs are slender and densely covered 

 with rusty down, which persists more or less until 

 the second year, when they are reddish brown; 

 the winter buds are sharp-pointed, dark red-brown 

 and shghtly hairy. The leaves are thick and firm, 

 ovate to broadly ovate, 8 to 18 cm. long, obhquely 

 tnmcate or slightly cordate at the base, short- or 

 long- pointed and coarsely toothed ; the young leaf 

 is very hair}', but becomes smooth on the upper 

 surface when fully grown, the lower surface re- 



FiG. 641. Downy Basswood. 



maining covered with a dense rusty -brown down : the leaf-stalk is slender, 3 to 4 

 cm. long, and very hairy; the bracts are sessile, oblong to oblong- spatulate, 6 to 9 

 cm. long, 1.5 to 2 cm. wide, narrowed or rounded at the base, very downy on 

 the under side. The peduncle and pedicels are hairy; the many flowers are rather 

 small; the sepals are lanceolate, 3.5 to 4.5 mm. long; the oblong petals are 6 to 

 7.5 mm. long, twice the length of the spatulate staminodes. The white-woolly 

 ovary ripens into a globose fruit 6 to 8 mm. in diameter. 



The wood of this tree is similar to that of the American linden, except that it 

 is lighter in weight, having a specific gravity of about 0.40; it is used like that of 

 its well-known relatives. 



