SCIENTIFIC NAME: Tilia americana

COMMON NAME: white basswood, American linden, florida basswood

LEAVES: Inequilateral base, cordate, serrate, and pubescent or non pubescent underneath. Can be small or big in size (4" to 6"). Yellow in the fall. Some trees glabrous underneath leaves and some pubescent.

FLOWERS: White and distinctive because they hang down in clusters from a modified leaf (bract) in late spring. Bee keepers love lindens because a good honey is made from them.

BARK: Smooth when small then becoming finely ridged and furrowed when older.

OTHER: Grows 60' to 80' tall and is native near water. Flowers in early summer with long-stalked clusters hanging from middle of leafy greenish bract. Has a distinct branch collar around each branch. Wood is light and strong and is used in manufacturing luggage. Tilia is often referred to as linden or basswood. Tilia cordata, littleleaf linden, does not do well in the deep south because of the heat. Linden has a pyramidal growth habit.