Tilia

{{short description|Plant genus}} {{redirect|Lime tree|the citrus|Lime (fruit)}} {{For|ancient Romans named "Tilia"|Tillia gens}} {{Automatic taxobox | oldest_fossil = Eocene | image = Kristinas lind 2013.jpg | image_caption = ''Tilia × europaea'', the type species of the genus, in Kungsör, Sweden | taxon = Tilia | authority = L. | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = 32; see text | subdivision_ref = <ref name="POWO"/> | synonyms = *''Lindnera'' {{small|Fuss}} *''Tilioides'' {{small|Medik.}} | synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO"/>

}}

'''''Tilia''''' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The species are known as '''linden''' or '''lime''' for the European and Asian species,<ref name="IUCN">{{cite web | title=The IUCN Red List: ''Tilia'' species | website=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?taxonomies=130090&searchType=species | access-date=2025-06-20}}</ref><ref name="Pigott">{{cite book | last=Pigott | first=Donald | title=Lime-trees and Basswoods: A Biological Monograph of the Genus ''Tilia'' | publisher=Cambridge University Press | date=2012-09-06 | isbn=978-1-139-03327-5 | doi=10.1017/cbo9781139033275 | url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9781139033275/type/book | access-date=2025-06-20 | page=}}</ref> and '''linden''' or '''basswood''' for North American species and more generally in American literature.<ref>{{PLANTS|id=TILIA|taxon=Tilia|access-date=10 December 2015}}</ref><ref name="MWDictionary">{{cite web|title=Linden, definition|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/linden|access-date=May 25, 2020|work=Merriam Webster dictionary}}</ref> The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, but the genus also occurs widely in Europe and eastern North America. Under the Cronquist classification system, this genus was placed in the family Tiliaceae, but genetic research summarised by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group has resulted in the incorporation of this genus, and of most of the previous family, into the Malvaceae.

''Tilia'' is the only known ectomycorrhizal genus in the family Malvaceae. Studies of ectomycorrhizal relations of ''Tilia'' species indicate a wide range of fungal symbionts and a preference toward Ascomycota fungal partners.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Timonen |first1=Sari |last2=Kauppinen |first2=Pauliina |title=Mycorrhizal colonisation patterns of Tilia trees in street, nursery and forest habitats in southern Finland |journal=Urban Forestry & Urban Greening |date=January 2008 |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=265–276 |doi=10.1016/j.ufug.2008.08.001|bibcode=2008UFUG....7..265T }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rudawska |first1=Maria |last2=Kujawska |first2=Marta |last3=Leski |first3=Tomasz |last4=Janowski |first4=Daniel |last5=Karliński |first5=Leszek |last6=Wilgan |first6=Robin |title=Ectomycorrhizal community structure of the admixture tree species Betula pendula, Carpinus betulus, and Tilia cordata grown in bare-root forest nurseries |journal=Forest Ecology and Management |date=April 2019 |volume=437 |pages=113–125 |doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2019.01.009|bibcode=2019ForEM.437..113R |s2cid=91789869 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Janowski |first1=Daniel |last2=Nara |first2=Kazuhide |title=Unique host effect of Tilia japonica on ectomycorrhizal fungal communities independent of the tree's dominance: A rare example of a generalist host? |journal=Global Ecology and Conservation |date=November 2021 |volume=31 |article-number=e01863 |doi=10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01863|s2cid=244182315 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021GEcoC..3101863J }}</ref>

== Description == ''Tilia'' species are mostly large, deciduous trees, reaching typically {{Convert|20|to|40|m|ft|round=5|abbr=on}} tall. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Tilia (Lime or Linden) Collection |url=https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/tilia-lime-linden-collection/ |access-date=2026-05-10 |website=Cambridge University Botanic Garden |language=en-US}}</ref>As with elms, the exact number of species is uncertain, as many of the species can hybridise readily, both in the wild and in cultivation. They are hermaphroditic, having perfect flowers with both male and female parts, pollinated by insects.

The trunk is stout, with pale grey to brownish-grey bark, smooth at first, becoming coarsely fissured or scaly on older trees; the inner bark, called bast, is soft, but fibrous, with high tensile strength. The wood is white, fairly soft, with minimal wood grain, making it popular for wood carving (see #Wood below).

The leaves of ''Tilia'' species are heart-shaped, and most are asymmetrical, with oblique-cordate (heart-shaped) leaves {{Convert|4|to|20|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}} across, sometimes more, to 25 cm in the hybrid cultivar ''Tilia'' 'Moltkei'.<ref name="AFM">{{cite book | last=Mitchell | first=Alan F. | title=A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe | publisher=Collins | publication-place=London | date=1974 | isbn=0-00-212035-6 | pages=357–363}}</ref> In all species, the leaf margin is toothed, sometimes markedly so, with ''T. henryana'' having conspicuous long bristle-like teeth up to 4.4 mm long.<ref name="Pigott"/> In another species, ''T. mongolica'', the leaves are also distinctly three- to five-lobed as one or two pairs of the marginal teeth are larger than the others; in this species, the leaf base is also usually symmetrical, not oblique as in other limes.<ref name="Pigott"/>

The flowers are small (10–15 mm diameter) and symmetrical, with five sepals and five petals; the petals are yellow to greenish-yellow, about twice the length of the sepals when fully open; they are strongly scented, and very attractive to bees and other insects.<ref name="Pigott"/> The flowers of European and American ''Tilia'' species are similar, except the American ones bear a petal-like scale among their stamens and the European species are devoid of these appendages.{{cn|date=June 2025}} The tiny, pea-sized fruit hangs attached to a ribbon-like, greenish-yellow bract whose apparent purpose is to aid the ripened seed clusters to blow in wind to a little beyond the parent tree. The fruit is mostly smooth and variably downy, but in ''T. chinensis'' and ''T. platyphyllos'' is prominently ribbed, with five ribs.<ref name="Pigott2">{{cite journal | last=Pigott | first=C. Donald | title=Biological Flora of the British Isles: Tilia platyphyllos | journal=Journal of Ecology | volume=108 | issue=6 | date=2020 | issn=0022-0477 | doi=10.1111/1365-2745.13490 | doi-access=free | pages=2638–2676 | bibcode=2020JEcol.108.2638P }}</ref> 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 damage by several insects. ''Tilia'' is notoriously difficult to propagate from seed unless collected fresh in autumn; if allowed to dry, the seeds go into deep dormancy and take 18 months to germinate.<ref name="Keeler">{{cite book |last=Keeler |first=Harriet L. |url=https://archive.org/details/ournativetreesa02keelgoog |title=Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them |publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons |year=1900 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ournativetreesa02keelgoog/page/n51 24]–31}}</ref>

<gallery heights="150" widths="200"> File:Tilia x europea-2.JPG|Trunk and leaves File:Tilia x cordata leaf underside.JPG|Leaf of common lime (''Tilia × europaea'') showing venation File:Tilia x cordata flower veination.JPG|The venation within a ''Tilia'' bract File:Lime tree.jpg|''Tilia'' flowers File:Tilia cordata Owoce lipy 656.jpg|''Tilia'' fruit File:Memmelsdorf Schloss Seehof Lindenallee-20231101-RM-115618.jpg|alt=Double row of trees with yellow leaves|Lime avenue in Germany in autumn File:15 year old lime-tree, Haute-Savoie, France.jpg|A 15-year-old lime-tree, Haute-Savoie, France File:Linde - Stockausschlag.jpg|A lime after coppicing, Vogelsberg Mountains </gallery>

== Taxonomy == [[File:Linde bei Frankenbrunn.jpg|thumb|Bole of an ancient ''Tilia'' at Frankenbrunn, Bavaria]] [[File:Ancient lime tree - geograph.org.uk - 75721.jpg|thumb|Ancient lime tree at Chilston Park, England]] thumb|Avenue of lime trees at Turville Heath [[File:Burg Münzenberg - Linde und westlicher Bergfried.jpg|thumb|Tilia in the Münzenberg Castle]]

=== Subdivision ===

==== Species ==== This list comprises the species accepted by the Plants of the World Online (POWO):<ref name="POWO">{{cite POWO |title=''Tilia'' L. |id=39532-1 |access-date=4 November 2025}}</ref> {{Div col}} * ''Tilia americana'' L. – American basswood, American linden * ''Tilia amurensis'' {{small|Rupr.}} – Amur lime, Amur linden * ''Tilia callidonta'' {{small|Hung T.Chang}} * ''Tilia chinensis'' {{small|Maxim.}} – Chinese lime or Chinese linden * ''Tilia chingiana'' Hu & W.C.Cheng * ''Tilia concinna'' {{small|Pigott}} * ''Tilia cordata'' Mill. – small-leaved lime * ''Tilia dasystyla'' Steven * ''Tilia endochrysea'' {{small|Hand.-Mazz.}} * ''Tilia henryana'' Szyszyl. – Henry's lime, Henry's linden * ''Tilia hyrcana'' {{small|Tabari & Colagar}} – Hubei lime * ''Tilia japonica'' {{small|(Miq.) Simonk.}} – Japanese lime, ''shina'' (when used as a laminate) * ''Tilia jiaodongensis'' {{small|S.B.Liang}} * ''Tilia kiusiana'' {{small|Makino & Shiras.}} * ''Tilia kueichouensis'' {{small|Hu}} * ''Tilia likiangensis'' {{small|Hung T.Chang}} * ''Tilia mandshurica'' {{small|Rupr. & Maxim.}} – Manchurian lime * ''Tilia maximowicziana'' {{small|Shiras.}} * ''Tilia membranacea'' {{small|Hung T.Chang}} * ''Tilia mexicana'' {{small|Schltdl.}} * ''Tilia miqueliana'' {{small|Maxim.}} * ''Tilia mongolica'' Maxim. – Mongolian lime, Mongolian linden * ''Tilia nobilis'' {{small|Rehder & E.H.Wilson}} – noble lime * ''Tilia occidentalisibirica'' {{small|Charit.}} * ''Tilia oliveri'' {{small|Szyszył.}} – Oliver's lime * ''Tilia paucicostata'' {{small|Maxim.}} * ''Tilia platyphyllos'' Scop. – large-leaved lime * ''Tilia sabetii'' {{small|H.Zare}} * ''Tilia stellatopilosa'' {{small|Zare, Amini & Assadi}} * ''Tilia toboliensis'' {{small|Charit.}} * ''Tilia tomentosa'' Moench – silver lime * ''Tilia tuan'' Szyszyl. {{div col end}}

The following additional species have been accepted by some other sources:{{cn|date=June 2025}}  * ''Tilia caroliniana'' – Carolina basswood (included in ''T. americana'' by POWO; accepted by Pigott)<ref name="Pigott"/> * ''Tilia hupehensis'' (included in ''T. tuan'' by POWO and Pigott)<ref name="Pigott"/> * ''Tilia nasczokinii'' (included in ''T. cordata'' by POWO and Pigott)<ref name="Pigott"/>

==== Hybrids ==== These natural hybrids are also accepted by POWO:<ref name="POWO"/> * ''Tilia × cinerascens'' {{small|(Rehder & E.H.Wilson) Pigott}} (''T. oliveri'' × ''T. chingiana'') * ''Tilia × euchlora'' {{small|L.}} (''T. dasystyla'' × ''T. cordata'') * ''Tilia × europaea'' {{small|K.Koch}} (''T. cordata × T. platyphyllos''; syn. ''T. × vulgaris'') – Common lime * ''Tilia × haynaldiana'' {{small|Simonk.}} (''T. platyphyllos'' × ''T. tomentosa'') * ''Tilia × juranyiana'' {{small|Simonk.}} (''T. cordata'' × ''T. tomentosa'') * ''Tilia × noziricola'' {{small|Hisauti}} (''T. japonica'' × ''T. maximowicziana'')

==== Extinct species ==== * †''Tilia johnsoni'' Wolfe & Wehr Eocene; Washington and British Columbia

==== Selected cultivars ==== * ''Tilia'' 'Flavescens' – Glenleven linden (''T. americana × T. cordata'') * ''Tilia'' 'Moltkei' (''T. americana × T. petiolaris'') * ''Tilia'' 'Orbicularis' (hybrid, unknown origin) * ''Tilia'' 'Petiolaris' (''T. tomentosa'') * ''Tilia'' 'Spectabilis' (hybrid, unknown origin)

=== Etymology === The 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.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

The genus is generally called "lime" in Britain<ref>Brown, Lesley (ed.). 2002. ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. 1, A–M. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 1600.</ref> and "linden", or "basswood" in North America.<ref name=MWDictionary />

"Lime" is an altered form of Middle English ''lind'', in the 16th century also ''line'', from Old English feminine ''lind'' or ''linde'', Proto-Germanic ''*lindō'' (cf. Dutch<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Linde |url=https://www.vandale.nl/gratis-woordenboek/nederlands/betekenis/linden |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=Van Dale |language=nl}}</ref>/German ''Linde,'' plural ''Linden''), cognate to Latin ''lentus'' "flexible" and Sanskrit ''latā'' "liana". Within Germanic languages, English "lithe" and Dutch<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-08-21 |title=Vergeten woorden – L |url=https://taaldacht.nl/vergeten-woorden-l/ |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=Taaldacht |language=nl}}</ref>/German ''lind'' for "lenient, yielding" are from the same root.

"Linden" was originally the adjective, "made from linwood or lime-wood" (equivalent to "wooden" or "oaken"); 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 ''Linde'' in Dutch<ref name=":0" /> and German.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} Neither the name nor the tree is related to ''Citrus'' genus species and hybrids that go by the same name, such as Key limes (''Citrus × aurantifolia''). Another common name used in North America is basswood, derived from ''bast'', the name for the inner bark (see Uses, below). Teil is an old name for the lime tree.

== Ecology == [[File:Bombus terrestris queen - Tilia cordata - Keila.jpg|thumb|''Bombus terrestris'' on ''Tilia cordata'']] [[File:Eriophyes tiliae tiliae.JPG|thumb| Linden nail galls, caused by the mite ''Eriophyes tiliae'']] {{Unsourced section|date=October 2024}}

Aphids are attracted by the rich supply of sap, and are in turn often "farmed" by ants for the production of the honeydew (an aphid waste product), 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lime Tree Plant Care & Growing Basics: Water, Light, Soil, Propagation etc. {{!}} PlantIn |url=https://myplantin.com/plant/5779 |access-date=2025-09-16 |website=myplantin.com |language=en}}</ref>

== Uses == Limes are widely used as ornamental trees when a mass of foliage or a deep shade is desired.<ref name=Keeler /> It produces fragrant and nectar-producing flowers and is an important honey plant for beekeepers, giving rise to a pale but richly flavoured monofloral honey. In European and North American herbal medicine, the flowers are also used for herbal teas and tinctures. The flowers are used for herbal tea in the winter in the Balkans. In China, dried ''Tilia'' flowers are also used to make tea.<ref name="刘玉波"/>

In English landscape gardens, avenues of linden trees were fashionable, especially during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Many country houses have a surviving "lime avenue" or "lime walk", the example at Hatfield House was planted between 1700 and 1730.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chilternsaonb.org/ccbmaps/810/137/gaddesden-lime-avenue.html |title=Gaddesden lime avenue |author= |website=www.chilternsaonb.org |publisher=Chilterns Conservation Board |access-date=22 December 2021}}</ref> The fashion was derived from the earlier practice of planting lindens in lines as shade trees in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern France. Most of the trees used in British gardens were cultivars propagated by layering in the Netherlands.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wolff |first1=Kirsten |last2=Logan |first2=Samuel |date=2019 |title=Tilia cultivars in historic lime avenues and parks in the UK, Estonia and other European countries |url=https://eprints.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/257286/91BC6ECA-D577-43DE-B557-0F8A7D7790AA.pdf |journal=Urban Forestry & Urban Greening |volume=43 |issue= |page=126346 |doi= 10.1016/j.ufug.2019.05.008|bibcode=2019UFUG...4326346W |s2cid=190901271 |access-date=22 December 2021}}</ref>

=== Wood === [[File:Riemenschneider Hl Georg.jpg|thumb|right|Limewood Saint George by Tilman Riemenschneider, ''circa'' 1490]]

Linden trees produce soft and easily worked timber, which has very little grain and a density of 560 kg/m3.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nichetimbers.co.uk/european-hardwood/lime/ |title=Lime timber |work=Niche Timbers |url-access=subscription |access-date=19 August 2009 |archive-date=21 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521040920/http://www.nichetimbers.co.uk/european-hardwood/lime/ }}</ref> It was often used by Germanic tribes for constructing shields. It is a popular wood for model building and for 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 sculptor Grinling Gibbons<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace/GrinlingGibbons |title=Hampton Court Palace: Grinling Gibbons |publisher=Hrp.org.uk |access-date=July 6, 2012}}</ref> (1648–1721). The wood is used in marionette- and puppet-making and -carving. Having a fine, light grain and being comparatively light in weight, it has been used for centuries for this purpose; despite the availability of modern alternatives, it remains one of the main materials used {{as of | 2015 | lc = on}}. In China, it was also widely used in carving or furniture, interior decorating, handicrafts, etc.<ref name="刘玉波"/>

Ease of working and good acoustic properties also make limewood popular for electric and bass guitar bodies and for wind instruments such as recorders. Percussion manufacturers sometimes use ''Tilia'' as a material for drum shells, both to enhance their sound and for their aesthetics.{{Citation needed|date=February 2016}}

Linden wood is also the material 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.{{Citation needed|date=February 2016}}

In China, 冻蘑/"dongmo" grows well on decomposing logs of ''Tilia'' trees in the old-growth forest;<ref name="刘玉波">{{ Cite web |url = http://www.forestry.gov.cn/main/5534/20201221/100715913472648.html |title = 椴树：名蜜之源与佛结缘 |author = 刘玉波 |date = 2020-12-21 |publisher = www.forestry.gov.cn |language = zh |access-date = 2023-01-11 }}</ref> therefore, people use logs of ''Tilia'' trees to cultivate ''S. edulis'' and even black fungus or shiitake mushrooms with excellent results. Currently, "椴木黑木耳/''Tilia''-logs-black fungus" or "椴木香菇/''Tilia''-logs-shiitake mushrooms" has become a term for a method of cultivating black fungus and shiitake mushrooms and "椴木/''Tilia''-logs" no longer exclusively refers to ''Tilia'' tree wood but also to other woods suitable for black fungus or shiitake mushrooms cultivation.<ref>{{ Cite web |url = https://www.my478.com/html/20190615/222148.html |title = 椴木黑木耳和黑木耳的区别，椴木栽培黑木耳技术 |date = 2019-06-15 |publisher = 农业种植网 |language = zh |access-date = 2023-01-17 }}</ref>

In Russian, "linden-made" (липовый, ''lipoviy'') is a term for forgery, due to the popularity of the material for making forged seals in the past centuries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nkj.ru/archive/articles/19060/ |title=За что обидели липу? |date=January 2011 |access-date=2013-11-07 |archive-date=2014-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025145411/http://www.nkj.ru/archive/articles/19060}}</ref>

=== Bark === Known in the trade as basswood, particularly in North America, its name originates from the inner fibrous bark of the tree, known as bast. A strong<ref>{{cite book|last=Kallio|first=Edwin|title=American Basswood... an American Wood|year=1973|publisher=US Forest Service|page=5|author2=Richard M. Godman }}</ref> fibre is obtained from the tree 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 japonica'' tree has been used by the Ainu people of Japan to weave their traditional clothing, the ''attus''. Excavations in Britain have shown that lime tree fibre was preferred for clothing there during the Bronze Age.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.353.6296.210|doi = 10.1126/science.353.6296.210|title = A time capsule from Bronze Age Britain|year = 2016|last1 = Stokstad|first1 = Erik|journal = Science|volume = 353|issue = 6296|pages = 210–211|pmid = 27418485|bibcode = 2016Sci...353..210S|url-access = subscription}}</ref> The Manchu people in the mountains of Northeast China made ropes, baskets, raincoats, large fishing nets, and guide lines for gunpowder from the bast.<ref>{{ Cite web |url = https://www.chinanews.com.cn/qxcz/news/2010/04-30/2257641 |title = 东北满族人的树皮蓑衣 |author = 关云德 |date = 2010-04-30 |publisher = www.chinanews.com.cn |language = zh |access-date = 2023-01-11 }}</ref> Similar fibres obtained from other plants are also called bast: see Bast fibre.

=== Nectar === ''Tilia'' is a high-quality wild honey plant. In China, "椴树蜜/''Tilia'' honey" is produced in the northeast region. White in color, it is called "white honey" or "snow honey". Heilongjiang is well-known throughout the country for producing high-quality "''Tilia'' honey": Heilongjiang not only has lush ''Tilia'' trees, but also a rare and excellent bee species - "东北黑蜂/northeast black bee" to collect honey（Raohe County is the location of the national "东北黑蜂自然保护区/Northeast Black Bee Nature Reserve". It is the only nature reserve for bees in Asia.<ref>{{ Cite web |url = http://www.raohe.gov.cn/tprh/dbhf/dbhf.htm |title = 饶河地域文化之四：东北黑蜂 |publisher = /www.raohe.gov.cn |language = zh |access-date = 2023-01-11 }}</ref>).<ref name="东北黑蜂">{{ Cite web |url = https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20200513A0EDT300 |title = 独特的东北黑蜂和椴树蜜 |publisher = new.qq.com |language = zh |access-date = 2023-01-11 }}</ref> "''Tilia'' honey" mainly comes from ''Tilia amurensis'' and ''Tilia mandshurica''.<ref name="东北黑蜂"/> "''Tilia'' honey" and southern "longan honey" and "lychee honey" are called "China's three famous honeys".<ref name="刘玉波"/> "''Tilia'' honey", "rape honey" and "black acacia honey" are the three most productive honeys in China.<ref>{{ Cite web |url = https://iar.caas.cn/xwdt/yw/1503491918b64855b293b1d0c72fc400.htm |title = 研究发现油菜蜜、洋槐蜜和椴树蜜中标志性成分|author =乔江涛 |publisher = Institute of Apicultural Research, CAAS |language = zh |access-date = 2023-01-11 }}</ref>

=== Phytochemicals === The dried flowers are mildly sweet and sticky, and the fruit is somewhat sweet and mucilaginous. Linden flower tea has a pleasing taste, due to the aromatic volatile oil found in the flowers. Phytochemicals in the ''Tilia'' flowers include flavonoids and tannins with astringent properties.<ref name=bradley>Bradley P., ed. (1992). British Herbal Compendium. Vol. 1: 142–144. British Herbal Medicine Association, Dorset (Great Britain)</ref>

The nectar contains a major secondary metabolite with the trivial name tiliaside (1-[4-(1-hydroxy-1-methylethyl)-1,3-cyclohexadiene-1-carboxylate]-6-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-β-D-glucopyranose), which is transformed in the gut of bumblebees to the aglycone (i.e., the gentiobiose group is cleaved), which is bioactive against a common and debilitating gut parasite of bumblebees, ''Crithidia bombi''. This naturally occurring compound may support bees to manage the burden of disease - one of the major contributors to pollinator decline.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Koch H, Welcome V, Kendal-Smith A, Thursfield L, Farrell IW, Langat MK, Brown MJF, Stevenson PC |title=Host and gut microbiome modulate the antiparasitic activity of nectar metabolites in a bumblebee pollinator. |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B |date=2022 |volume=377 |issue=1853 |page=20210164 |doi=10.1098/rstb.2021.0162 |pmid=35491601 |pmc=9058528 }}</ref>

===Other uses=== A beverage made from dried linden leaves and flowers is brewed and consumed as a folk medicine and relaxant in many Eastern European countries.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Linden tea from Serbia – an insight into the phenolic profile, radical scavenging and antimicrobial activities|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926669020305550|journal=Industrial Crops and Products|date=2020-10-15|issn=0926-6690|article-number=112639|volume=154|doi=10.1016/j.indcrop.2020.112639|first1=Tamara|last1=Pavlović|first2=Ivica|last2=Dimkić|first3=Snežana|last3=Andrić|first4=Dušanka|last4=Milojković-Opsenica|first5=Slaviša|last5=Stanković|first6=Peđa|last6=Janaćković|first7=Milan|last7=Gavrilović|first8=Petar|last8=Ristivojević|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The double-flowered species are used to make perfumes.{{citation needed|date=September 2016}} The leaf buds and young leaves are also edible raw.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Tilia+cordata |title=Tilia cordata Small Leaved Lime, Littleleaf linden |website=PFAF Plant Database}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Tilia+americana |title=Tilia americana American Basswood, Carolina basswood, Basswood, AmericanBasswood, American Linden |website=PFAF Plant Database}}</ref>

''Tilia'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera; see List of Lepidoptera that feed on ''Tilia''.

Linden trees are often planted as ornamentals, and are noted for their distinctive fragrance.

== In culture == {{Main|Lime tree in culture}} [[File:Tilia johnsoni 01.jpg|thumb|''T. johnsoni'' leaf fossil, 49 Ma, Washington state]]

In Europe, some linden trees reached considerable ages. A coppice of ''T. cordata'' in Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire is estimated to be 2,000 years old.<ref>{{cite web |last=Podlewska |first=Katrina |date=March 4, 2013 |title=Celebrating Westonbirt's 2000 Year Old Lime |url=https://www.fowa.org.uk/blog/2013/03/04/celebrating-westonbirts-2000-year-old-lime-by-katrina-podlewska-communications-manager/314 |access-date=May 25, 2020 |work=Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum}}</ref> In the courtyard of the Imperial Castle at Nuremberg is a ''Tilia'', which by tradition recounted in 1900, was planted by the Empress Cunigunde, the wife of Henry II of Germany ''circa'' 1000. The ''Tilia'' of Neuenstadt am Kocher in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, was estimated at 1000 years old when it fell.<ref name="Keeler" /> 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'' (large). A plaque at its foot mentions that in 1155, a linden tree was already on this spot. The Najevnik linden tree ({{langx|sl|Najevska lipa}}), a 700-year-old ''T. cordata'', is the thickest tree in Slovenia.<ref name="DEDI">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Najevska lipa |encyclopedia=Enciklopedija naravne in kulturne dediščine na Slovenskem – DEDI [Encyclopedia of Natural and Cultural Heritage in Slovenia] |url=http://www.dedi.si/dediscina/263-najevska-lipa |access-date=28 August 2013 |editor1-last=Šmid Hribar |editor1-first=Mateja |language=sl |trans-title=Najevnik Linden Tree |first1=Mateja |last1=Šmid Hribar |editor2-first=Gregor |editor2-last=Golež |editor3-first=Dan |editor3-last=Podjed |editor4-first=Drago |editor4-last=Kladnik |editor5-first=Bojan |editor5-last=Erhartič |editor6-first=Primož |editor6-last=Pavlin |editor7-first=Jerele |editor7-last=Ines}}</ref> Next to the 英華殿/Yinghua Temple in the Forbidden City in Beijing, there are two ''Tilia'' trees planted by Empress Dowager Li, the biological mother of Wanli Emperor about five hundred years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |author=苏怡 |title=英華殿 |url=https://www.dpm.org.cn/explore/building/236568.html?hl=%E8%8B%B1%E8%8F%AF%E6%AE%BF |access-date=2023-01-12 |publisher=The Palace Museum |language=zh}}</ref>

* The excellence of the honey of the far-famed Hyblaean Mountains<ref name="eb">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Honey |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://www.libraryindex.com/encyclopedia/pages/cpxldaulh1/honey-bees-flowers-sugar.html |access-date=November 22, 2011 |edition=9th |quote=...honey most esteemed by the ancients was that of Mount Hybla in Sicily...}}</ref> was due to the linden trees that covered its sides and crowned its summit. * Lime fossils have been found in the Tertiary formations of Grinnell Land, Canada, at 82°N latitude, and in Svalbard, Norway. Sapporta believed he had found there the common ancestor of the ''Tilia'' species of Europe and America.<ref name="Keeler" />

== Gallery == <gallery heights="150px" widths="200px"> File:AmericanBasswood.JPG|''Tilia americana'' File:Tilia-cordata2.JPG|''Tilia cordata'' File:Tilia henryana.jpg|''Tilia henryana'' File:Tilia monticola JPG1FeA.jpg|''Tilia heterophylla'' (syn. ''T. monticola'') File:Tilia insularis 3.jpg|''Tilia insularis'' File:Tilia japonica.JPG|''Tilia japonica'' File:Tilia maximowicziana 1.JPG|''Tilia maximowicziana'' File:Tilia miqueliana3.jpg|''Tilia miqueliana'' File:Tilia mongolica0.jpg|''Tilia mongolica'' File:Tilia oliveri JPG1Fe.jpg|''Tilia oliveri'' File:20140508Tilia platyphyllos3.jpg|''Tilia platyphyllos'' File:Tilia-tomentosa.JPG|''Tilia tomentosa'' </gallery>

== See also == * International World War Peace Tree, a ''Tilia'' tree that stands as a sign of Germany's armistice with the United States * Matryoshka doll, made from linden trees * St Lawrence Lime, a former lime tree in Canterbury, England * Tanzlinde (Effeltrich)

== References == {{Reflist|30em}}

== Further reading == {{refbegin}} * {{cite book|last1=Pigott|first1=Donald|author-link=Donald Pigott|title=Lime-trees and basswood: a biological monograph of the genus Tilia|date=2012|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|isbn=978-0-521-84054-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zdkM5L3O4vYC}} {{refend}}

== External links == {{Americana Poster|Linden|year=1920}} {{Commonscat|Tilia|''Tilia''}} * {{cite web |last=Eichhorn |first=Markus |title=Lime Trees and Bees |url=http://www.test-tube.org.uk/trees/video_lime.htm |work=Test Tube |publisher=Brady Haran for the University of Nottingham |date=January 2012}}

Category:Tilia Category:Malvaceae genera Category:Medicinal plants Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus