TILIACEAE. The Linden Family. 



TILIA. The Bas«woods. 



Trees with medium sized twigs; leaves alternate, mostly taper- 

 pointed, oblique cordate or truncate at the base, serrate; flowers in 

 axillar.y or terminal cymes, white or yellow, fragrant, peduncles of the 

 cymes with a leaf-like liract adhering to about half their length; fruit 

 nut-like, woody, l-celled. 



Leaves smooth or nearly so beneath 1 T. glalwa. 



Leaves densely white or gray pubescent beneath 2 T. heterophylla, 



1. Tilia glabra Ventenat (Tilia amerjcana Linnteus of authors). 

 Linn. Basswood. Plate. 118. Medium to large sized trees with 

 deeply furrowed bark, much resembling that of white ash or black wal- 

 nut; twigs when chewed somewhat mucilaginous, usually somewhat 

 zigzag; leaves on petioles 2-6 cm. long, blades ovate to neaiiy orbicular, 

 5-15 cm. long, short or long acuminate at the apex, margins more or less 

 coarsely or finely serrate with teeth attenuate and ending in a gland, 

 dark green and smooth above, a lighter green and generally smooth 

 beneath at maturitj^ except tufts of hairs in the axils of the prinicpal 

 veins, or sometimes with a scanty pubescence of simple or stellate 

 hairs beneath; flowers appear in ,June or July, when the leaves are al- 

 most mature; bracts of the peduncles very variable, generally about 

 8-10 cm. long, rounded, or tapering at the base, obtuse or rounded at 

 the apex, smooth both above and beneath at maturity; peduncles 

 from very short up to 6 cm. in length; pedicels of flowers varialile in 

 length on the same and on different trees, generally about one cm. 

 long; styles pubescent near the base on all of the specimens at hand; 

 fruit W00II3', globose or somewhat ellipsoidal, generally about 6 mm. 

 in diameter. 



Distribution. — New Brunswick to Manitoba, south to Georgia and 

 west to Texas. More or less freciuent to common in rich moist soil in 

 all parts of Indiana. It is the most frequent and common in the lake 

 area of the State but was almost as frequent and common throughout 

 the central part of the State until the hUly area is reached where its 

 habitat disappears for the greater part. In the hill area it is confined to 

 the basins of streams, although sometimes found on the high rocdcy bluffs 

 of streams. Rare or absent in the flats. In most of its area it is asso- 

 ciated with white ash, slippery elm, beech, maple, shell bark hickory, etc. 



Remarks. — Wood soft, light, straight and close-grained, white and 

 seasons well. On account of its softness and lightness it has always been 

 a favorite Avood where these two factors were important considerations. 



