550 



KEW EXGLAXD TKEES IN WINTER. 



LINDEN 

 Basswood, Lime Whitewood, Beetree. 



Tilia amcricana L. 



HABIT— A larg-e tree 50-75 ft., to 100 ft. In height in the upper 

 valley of the Connecticut river, with a trunlv diameter of 2-4 ft.; with 

 a straight trunk generally continuous into the top. beset witli numerous 

 slender branches, those at the base often strongly drooping, forming a 

 narrow pyramidal head as shown in habit picture or more commonly 

 becoming broadly ovate or round-topped and oblong. [Habit picture 

 is taken from the European Linden, "U'hich resembles the American spe- 

 cies in habit.] 



BARK — Dark gray, firm but easily cut, in young stems smooth 

 (upper part of smaller trunlv in photograph), becoming hssured into long 

 rather narrow fiat-topped ridges, divided by characteristically trans- 

 verse cracks into short blocks (lower bark picture), becoming with age 

 deeply furrowed with broader more rounded ridges (older trunk), 



TMIGS — Rather slender, smooth, shining, bright red or greenish 



or covered witli a gray skin; generally zizag, somewhat mucilaginous; 

 fibres in inner bark long, tougii. appearing as blunt conical masses in 

 cross-section of older twig, and in surface sections of the bark as 

 whitish wavy lines enclosing lens-shaped darker masses "which show 

 externally as wrinkled depressions of the bark. LENTICEL.S — ■ 

 scattered, dark, oblong. 



LEAF-SCARS — Alternate, 2-ranked; large, elevated, semi-oval to 

 elliptical. ST TPUT^E- SCARS- — narrow, often showing bundle- scars. 

 BUNDLE-SCARS— few to many, scattered or in a ring or forming a 

 single curved line, shO"n'"ing as 3 in deep surface section. 



Bins — Terminal bud absent; lateral buds large to medium, ovate, 3-10 

 mm. long, somewhat flattened, often lopsided, divergent, dark red or 

 sometimes green, smooth or slightly downy at apex. BUD-SCALES — • 

 rarely more than 2-3 visible, thick, rounded at the back, not 2-ranked 

 nor in pairs. 



FRI'IT — About the size of a pea. "woody, spherical, singly or in clus- 

 ters of several with a common stalk attached midway to a leafy bract, 

 sometimes remaining on the tree into tlie "^''inter. 



CO>rp ARISO.VS — The American Linden, more commonly known among 

 lumbermen as Basswood differs but sliglitly in winter or summer condi- 

 tion f r<.im tlie ELiropean species [7'i7io vulgaris Hayne] "which is much 

 cultivated as a street tree. Another Basswood [Tilia liFichauxii Nutt.] 

 has been reported in Ne"^'' England only from Connecticut, but 

 is rare in this state. The Lindens are sometimes confused with the 

 Elms, but aside from the different habit of growth tlie Linden has 

 larger, bright colored buds "\vitli 2-3 scales only sho\ving, while the Elms 

 have many scales visible and their bundle-scars are depressed. 



DISTRIRI'TIOX — Tn rich vt'oods and loamy soils and often cultivated. 

 Soutliern Canada from Ne"\v Brunswick to Lake Winnipeg; south 

 along the mountains to Georgia; west to Kansas, Nebraska and Texas. 



TN NEW ENGLAND — Throughout, frequent from the sea coast to 

 altitudes of 1.000 ft., rare from 1.000 to 2,000 ft. 

 IN CONNECTICUT — Occasional. 



AVOOD — Soft, straight-grained, light brown faintly tinged with red, 

 with thick hardly distinguishable sap wood of 55-6 '. laj'ers of annual 

 growtli. employed in the manufacture of paper-pulp; under the name 

 of Whitewood largely used for woodenware, cheap furniture, the 

 panels of carriages, and for inner soles of shoes. The tough inner bark 

 furnishes fibres for mats, cordage, etc. 



