American Basswood
Scientific Name: Tilia americana
Common Name: American Basswood, American Linden, Bee Tree
Plant Family: Malvaceae (Mallow Family)
Etymology: Americana comes from where it was first discovered and Tilia is Latin for Lime or Linden tree.
Indigenous Uses
The inner bark, which was fibrous, was utilized to fashion mats, rope, nets, clothing and thread. The trees were also utilized in carving masks.
Medicinal Uses
It was believed that taking a bath in water infused with the flowers, followed by linden tea, was supposed to cure colds. Various components of the bark and sap can be utilized in burn relief, as a diuretic, and in aiding with some heart conditions.
Edible Parts
Young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked and make great additions to salads. The flowers can also be eaten raw or brewed into tea. The sap can be boiled down into a syrup or sweetener. The ground fruit and flowers can be utilized as a substitute for chocolate, although it is not shelf stable.
Gathering and Using
Young leaves can be gathered in the springtime along with the flowers. Fruits and sap can be gathered in the fall.
Permaculture Functions and Considerations
A wonderful tree for attracting pollinators, especially native insects. There are many benefits and uses from flowers and bark. A medium sized tree, the American Basswood will not take up a garden but can provide shade.
How to Identify
The American Basswood has leaves shaped like hearts and have fragrant yellow flowers in June to August. The leafstalks and flower stalks of the American Basswood are hairless. Leaves are 3-10 inches with a height of 50-80 feet. Small, brown nutlets are attached to leafy wings that make them fall like a parachute. A deciduous tree, its range extends from Canada south to Florida and over to Oklahoma, although there are overlaps with the Carolina and White Basswoods in the southeast.
Wildlife Support
Buds and fruits are eaten by small mammals and birds such as chipmunks, bobwhite quails, and twigs are grazed by deer.
Additional Information
The tree can send up suckers at the base of the trunk and sometimes grows in a circle with other American Basswoods, especially at the site of a dead stump.
Sources
- American Basswood: Tilia americana. The Morton Arboretum. (2024, August 8).
- North Carolina State University. (n.d.). Tilia cordata. Tilia cordata (Little-Leaf Linden, Littleleaf Linden, Small Leaf Lime Tree, Small-Leaved Lime) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.
- Petrides, G. A., & Wehr, J. (1998). A Field Guide to Eastern Trees: Eastern United States and Canada, Including the Midwest. Houghton Mifflin.
- Plants for a Future. (n.d.). Pfaf Plant Search.
- University of Texas at Austin. (n.d.-b). Plant database. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin.