Tilia
Tilia tomentosa, cultivated at the Morton Arboretum near Chicago
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Subfamily:	Tilioideae
Genus:	Tilia L.
Species
About 30

Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. They are generally called lime in Britain and linden or basswood in North America. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America. Under the Cronquist classification system, this genus was placed in the family Tiliaceae, but genetic research by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group has resulted in the incorporation of this family into the Malvaceae.

Tilia species are large deciduous trees, reaching typically 20 to 40 metres (66 to 130 ft) tall, with oblique-cordate leaves 6 to 20 centimetres (2 to 8 in) across. The exact number of species is subject to considerable uncertainty, as many or most of the species will hybridise readily, both in the wild and in cultivation.

Name[link]

"Lime" is an altered form of Middle English lind, in the 16th century also line, from Old English feminine lind or linde, Proto-Germanic *lendā, cognate to Latin lentus "flexible" and Sanskrit latā "liana". Within Germanic languages, English "lithe", German lind "lenient, yielding" are from the same root.

"Linden" was originally the adjective, "made from lime-wood" (equivalent to "wooden"); from the late 16th century, "linden" was also used as a noun, probably influenced by translations of German romance, as an adoption of Linden, the plural of German Linde.^[1] Neither the name nor the tree is related to the citrus fruit called "lime" (Citrus aurantifolia, family Rutaceae). Another common name used in North America is basswood, derived from bast, the name for the inner bark (see Uses, below). In the US, the name "lime" is used only for the citrus tree. Teil is an old name for the lime tree.

Latin tilia is cognate to Greek πτελέᾱ, ptelea, "elm tree", τιλίαι, tiliai, "black poplar" (Hes.), ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European word *ptel-ei̯ā with a meaning of "broad" (feminine); perhaps "broad-leaved" or similar.^[2]

Description[link]

Lime nail galls, caused by the mite Eriophyes tiliae tiliae

The Tilia's sturdy trunk stands like a pillar and the branches divide and subdivide into numerous ramifications on which the twigs are fine and thick. In summer, these are profusely clothed with large leaves and the result is a dense head of abundant foliage.^[3]

The leaves of all the Tilia species are heart-shaped and most are asymmetrical, and the tiny fruit, looking like peas, always hang attached to a ribbon-like, greenish-yellow bract, whose use seems to be to launch the ripened seed-clusters just a little beyond the parent tree. The flowers of the European and American Tilia species are similar, except the American bears a petal-like scale among its stamens and the European varieties are devoid of these appendages. All of the Tilia species may be propagated by cuttings and grafting, as well as by seed. They grow rapidly in rich soil, but are subject to the attack of many insects.^[3]

In particular, aphids are attracted by the rich supply of sap, and are in turn often "farmed" by ants for the production of the sap which the ants collect for their own use, and the result can often be a dripping of excess sap onto the lower branches and leaves, and anything else below. Cars left under the trees can quickly become coated with a film of the syrup ("honeydew") thus dropped from higher up. The ant/aphid "farming" process does not appear to cause any serious damage to the trees.

Leaf of common lime (Tilia × europaea) showing venation   Tilia flowers   Tilia fruit   The venation within a Tilia bract

History[link]

Bole of an ancient Tilia at Frankenbrunn, near Bad Kissingen, Bavaria

T. johnsoni leaf fossil, 49 ma, Washington, USA

In Europe, linden trees are known to have reached ages measured in centuries, if not longer. A coppice of T. cordata in Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire, for example, is estimated to be 2,000 years old.[1] In the courtyard of the Imperial Castle at Nuremberg is a Tilia which tradition says was planted by the Empress Cunigunde, the wife of Henry II of Germany. This would make the tree about 900 years old in 1900 when it was described. It looks ancient and infirm, but in 1900 was sending forth a few leaves on its two or three remaining branches and was, of course, cared for tenderly. The Tilia of Neuenstadt am Kocher in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, was computed to be 1000 years old when it fell.^[3] The Alte Linde tree of Naters, Switzerland, is mentioned in a document in 1357 and described by the writer at that time as already magnam (huge). A plaque at its foot mentions that in 1155 a linden tree was already on this spot.

• The excellence of the honey of far-famed Hyblaean Mountains^[4] was due to the linden trees that covered its sides and crowned its summit.
• The name of Linnaeus, the great botanist, was derived from a lime tree.
• Lime fossils have been found in the Tertiary formations of Grinnell Land, Canada, at 82° N latitude, and in Spitzbergen, Norway. Sapporta believed he had found there the common ancestor of the Tilia species of Europe and America.^[3]

Uses[link]

The linden is recommended as an ornamental tree when a mass of foliage or a deep shade is desired.^[3] The tree produces fragrant and nectar-producing flowers, the medicinal herb lime blossom. They are very important honey plants for beekeepers, producing a very pale but richly flavoured monofloral honey. The flowers are also used for herbal tea and tinctures; this kind of use is particularly popular in Europe and also used in North American herbal medicine practices.

Wood[link]

Limewood Saint George by Tilman Riemenschneider, circa 1490

The timber of linden trees is soft and easily worked; it has very little grain and a density of 560 kg per cubic metre.^[5] During the Viking era, it was often used for constructing shields. It is a popular wood for model building and intricate carving. Especially in Germany, it was the classic wood for sculpture from the Middle Ages onwards, and is the material for the elaborate altarpieces of Veit Stoss, Tilman Riemenschneider, and many others. In England, it was the favoured medium of Grinling Gibbons.^[6] Ease of working and good acoustic properties also make it popular for electric guitar and bass bodies and wind instruments such as recorders. In the past, it was typically used (along with Agathis) for less-expensive models. However, due to its better resonance at middle and high frequencies, and better sustain than alder, it is now more commonly used in the "superstrat" type of guitar. It can also be used for the neck because of its excellent material integrity when bent and ability to produce consistent tone without any dead spots, according to Parker Guitars. In the percussion industry, Tilia is sometimes used as a material for drum shells, both to enhance their sound and their aesthetics.

Lime wood is known in the aquarium industry for its use as an air diffuser inside protein skimmers. Air pumped through the grain of the wood turns into consistently very fine bubbles (0.5-1.0mm), difficult to achieve with any other natural or man-made medium. However, the wood decomposes underwater much faster than ceramic air stones and must be replaced more frequently for maximum efficiency.

It is also the wood of choice for window blinds and shutters. Real wood blinds are often made from this lightweight but strong and stable wood, which is well suited to natural and stained finishes.

Bark[link]

It is known in the trade as basswood, particularly in North America. This name originates from the inner fibrous bark of the tree, known as bast. A very strong fibre is obtained from this, by peeling off the bark and soaking it in water for a month, after which the inner fibres can be easily separated. Bast obtained from the inside of the bark of the Tilia tree, it has been used by the Ainu people of Japan to weave their traditional clothing, the attus. Similar fibres obtained from other plants are also called bast, named after those from the Tilia: see Bast fibre.

Herbalism[link]

Tilia cordata is the preferred species for medical use, having a high concentration of active compounds.^[vague] It is said to be a nervine, used by herbalists in treating restlessness, hysteria, and headaches.^{[citation needed]} Usually, the double-flowered species are used to make perfumes. The leaf buds and young leaves are also edible raw. Tilia species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species; see List of Lepidoptera that feed on Tilia.

Most medicinal research has focused on Tilia cordata, although other species are also used medicinally and somewhat interchangeably. The dried flowers are mildly sweet and sticky, and the fruit is somewhat sweet and mucilaginous. Limeflower tea has a pleasing taste, due to the aromatic volatile oil found in the flowers. The flowers, leaves, wood, and charcoal (obtained from the wood) are used for medicinal purposes. Active ingredients in the Tilia flowers include flavonoids (which act as antioxidants), volatile oils, and mucilaginous constituents (which soothe and reduce inflammation).^{[citation needed]} The plant also contains tannins that can act as an astringent.^[7]

Linden flowers are used in herbalism for colds, cough, fever, infections, inflammation, high blood pressure, headache (particularly migraine), and as a diuretic (increases urine production), antispasmodic (reduces smooth muscle spasm along the digestive tract), and sedative.^[8] New evidence shows that the flowers may be hepatoprotective.^[9] The flowers were added to baths to quell hysteria, and steeped as a tea to relieve anxiety-related indigestion, irregular heartbeat, and vomiting.^{[citation needed]} The leaves are used to promote sweating to reduce fevers. The wood is used for liver and gallbladder disorders and cellulitis (inflammation of the skin and surrounding soft tissue). That wood burned to charcoal is ingested to treat intestinal disorders and used topically to treat edema or infection such as cellulitis or ulcers of the lower leg.^[7]

Classification[link]

Leaves and trunk of common lime (Tilia × europaea)

The following list comprises those most widely accepted as species, hybrids, and cultivars.

Species[link]

• Tilia americana L. – Basswood, American Linden
• Tilia amurensis – Amur Lime, Amur Linden
• Tilia argentea – Silver Lime
• Tilia caroliniana – Carolina Basswood
• Tilia chinensis
• Tilia chingiana Hu & W.C.Cheng
• Tilia cordata Mill. – Small-leaved Lime, Little-leaf Linden or Greenspire Linden
• Tilia dasystyla Steven
• Tilia euchlora – Caucasian Lime
• Tilia henryana Szyszyl. – Henry's Lime, Henry's Linden
• Tilia heterophylla Vent. – White Basswood
• Tilia hupehensis – Hubei Lime
• Tilia insularis
• Tilia intonsa
• Tilia japonica – Japanese Lime, Shina (When used as a laminate)
• †Tilia johnsoni Wolfe & Wehr Eocene; Washington and British Columbia
• Tilia kiusiana
• Tilia mandshurica – Manchurian Lime
• Tilia maximowicziana
• Tilia mexicana (T. americana var. mexicana)
• Tilia miqueliana
• Tilia mongolica – Mongolian Lime, Mongolian Linden
• Tilia nasczokinii – Nasczokin's Lime, Nasczokin's Linden
• Tilia nobilis
• Tilia occidentalis – West lime
• Tilia oliveri – Oliver's Lime
• Tilia paucicostata
• Tilia platyphyllos Scop. – Large-leaved Lime
• Tilia rubra – Red Stem Lime (syn. T. platyphyllos var. rubra)
• Tilia tomentosa Moench – Silver Lime, Silver Linden
• Tilia tuan

Hybrids and cultivars[link]

• Tilia × euchlora (T. dasystyla × T. cordata)
• Tilia × europaea – Common Lime (T. cordata × T. platyphyllos; syn. T. × vulgaris)
• Tilia × petiolaris (T. tomentosa × T. ?)
• Tilia 'Flavescens' – Glenleven Linden (T. americana × T. cordata)
• Tilia 'Moltkei' (hybrid, unknown origin)
• Tilia 'Orbicularis' (hybrid, unknown origin)
• Tilia 'Spectabilis' (hybrid, unknown origin)

Cultural significance[link]

Slavic mythology[link]

In old Slavic mythology, the linden (lipa, as called in all Slavic languages) was considered a sacred tree.^[10] Particularly in Poland, many villages have a name "Święta Lipka" (or similar), which literally means "Holy Lime". To this day, the tree is a national emblem of Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and the Sorbs.^{[citation needed]} Lipa gave name to the traditional Slavic name for the month of June (Croatian, lipanj) or July (Polish, lipiec). It is also the root for the German city of Leipzig, taken from the Sorbian name lipsk.^[11] The Croatian currency, kuna, consists of 100 lipa. "Lipa" was also a proposed name for Slovenian currency in 1990, however the name "tolar" ultimately prevailed.^[12] In the Slavic Orthodox Christian world, limewood was the preferred wood for panel icon painting. The icons by the hand of Andrei Rublev, including the Holy Trinity (Hospitality of Abraham), and The Savior, now in the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, are painted on linden wood. Its wood was chosen for its ability to be sanded very smooth and for its resistance to warping once seasoned.

Germanic mythology[link]

Avenue with linden in the cemetery by Ringkøbing, Jutland, Denmark.

The linden was also a highly symbolic and hallowed tree to the Germanic peoples in their native pre-Christian Germanic mythology.

Originally, local communities assembled not only to celebrate and dance under a linden tree, but to hold their judicial thing meetings there in order to restore justice and peace. It was believed that the tree would help unearth the truth. Thus the tree became associated with jurisprudence even after Christianization, such as in the case of the Gerichtslinde, and verdicts in rural Germany were frequently returned sub tilia (under the linden) until the Age of Enlightenment.

In the Nibelungenlied, a medieval German work ultimately based on oral tradition recounting events amongst the Germanic tribes in the 5th and 6th centuries, Siegfried gains his invulnerability by bathing in the blood of a dragon. While he did so, a single linden leaf sticks to him, leaving a spot on his body untouched by the blood and he thus has a single point of vulnerability.

The most notable street in Berlin, Germany is called Unter den Linden, named after the trees lining the avenue. In German folklore, the linden tree is the "tree of lovers."

Greek mythology[link]

Homer, Horace, Virgil, and Pliny mention the linden tree and its virtues. As Ovid tells the old story of Baucis and Philemon, she was changed into a linden and he into an oak when the time came for them both to die.

Herodotus says:^[3]

The Scythian diviners take also the leaf of the linden tree, which, dividing into three parts, they twine round their fingers; they then unbind it and exercise the art to which they pretend.

Romantic symbol[link]

A mediaeval love poem by Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 1170–c. 1230) starts with a reference to the tree:

Linden trees play a significant motif in a number of poems written by Romanian poet Mihai Eminescu. An excerpt from his poem Mai am un singur dor (One Wish Alone Have I):

In 1979, linden trees were featured in the song Gelato al Cioccolato on the album of the same name by Italian singer-songwriter Enzo Ghinazzi, also known as Pupo.

In 2003, linden trees were featured in the popular song "Dragostea Din Tei" ("Love from linden Trees") by the Moldovan band O-Zone.

The tree also has cultural and spiritual significance in Hungary, where it is called hárs (fa).

Literary references[link]

• A play called "The Linden Tree" (1947) was written by Bradford-born English novelist, playwright and broadcaster J.B. Priestley.
• Samuel Taylor Coleridge features linden trees as an important symbol in his poem "This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison" (written 1797; first published 1800).
• The short poems (Fraszki) of Polish poet Jan Kochanowski commonly feature linden trees, especially "Na Lipę" (To The Tilia Tree), published in 1584. Kochanowski was heavily influenced by the Czarnolas, or the Polish Black Forest, where it is the dominant tree species.
• The lined tree is featured as a symbol of supernatural dread in Hannah Crafts' The Bondwoman's Narrative.
• A poem from Wilhelm Müller's Winterreise cycle of poems is called "Der Lindenbaum" (The Linden Tree). The cycle was later set to music by Franz Schubert.
• Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther features a linden tree throughout the novel, and the protagonist, Werther, is buried under the tree after his suicide.
• In Swann's Way, the first book of Proust's In Search of Lost Time, the narrator dips a petite madeleine into a cup of Tilia blossom tea. The aroma and taste of cake and tea triggers his first conscious involuntary memory.
• The band Bright Eyes has a song called "Lime Tree" on the album Cassadaga: "Under the eaves of that old Lime Tree I stood examining the fruit."
• Prominently featured throughout Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk's The Museum of Innocence.
• Tilia trees are a recurring theme in Romanian author Mihai Eminescu's poems. Upon his wish he was interred under one's shade.
• A Tilia tree is prominent in the setting of Anton Chekhov's play The Seagull (Act II).
• The song "Dragostea din tei" by Moldovan band O-zone features several references to linden trees.
• A short story written by Herman Hesse, "The Three Linden Trees"
• A song written by Joan Baez, "For Sasha", mentions the linden tree; from the album Honest Lullaby
• A poem from Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, sung by the German witch Geli Tripping, mentions a linden tree:

"Though it’s another year, Though it’s another me, Under the rose is a drying tear, Under my linden tree… Love never goes away, Not if it’s really true, It can return by night, by day, Tender and green and new As the leaves from a linden tree, love, That I left with you."

Gallery[link]

• Lindenfoliage.jpg

  Tilia foliage in autumn colors from Ekoparken in Stockholm.

• 

  New growth following a devastating late spring storm.

• 

  Decomposing lime bark.

• 

  Edward VII Limes, in Parkend, Gloucestershire.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tilia

Wikispecies has information related to: Tilia

• International World War Peace Tree, a Tilia tree that stands as a sign of Germany's alliance with the United States

References[link]

Look up tilia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikisource has the text of the 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article Linden.