Linden Tree

Barbara Wagner, Erie County Master GardenerI am not very good at identifying deciduous trees in the winter so I was very pleased when my friends Ann and George Brickner helped me identify the trees in my side yard. They are a linden trees, also known as basswood, probably American linden, scientific name Tilia Americana.The trees are large and provide significant shade to the side of my condo. But like crabapple trees, suckers grow up around the base of the trees and require pruning to keep them from becoming unsightly.Linden trees are native to Ohio. Ohio Trees, an OSU extension publication, gives their range as New Brunswick, Canada, west to Manitoba and south to Georgia and Texas. "The Audubon Field Guide to North American Trees" calls them the northernmost of the basswood species.The habitat of linden trees is moist soils in valleys and uplands. They also grow in hardwood forests. They are known to grow quickly and are easy to transplant.This time of year the bark is clearly visible and does not give me any help in identification. On young trees, it is smooth and dark gray. On older trees it is thick and clearly furrowed – as are other trees.The linden tree is a large tree, growing 70 to 80 feet tall. Audubon mentions it long trunk and dense crown of many small, often drooping branches. In the summer the tree has many large leaves, from 3 to five inches long.The leaves do help with identification. Besides being large, they are simple, alternate, and slightly oval with a tip at the end. The Audubon Guide points out that there is a notch at the base of the leaf and the edges are saw-toothed.Next summer the leaves will be dark green above and light green beneath. They have deep veins.They turned yellow last fall.Also helpful in identification is the fruit which George pointed out to me. The fruit is small and hard. "Ohio Trees" describes it as "nutlike about the size of a pea." A unique characteristic of the tree is the "short stalked leaflike bract that allows the seed to be carried by the wind in a helicopter-like fashion."In the summer there will be other helpful aids to identification. The trees will have fragrant flowers, about ½ inch wide with five pale yellow petals. These flowers will hang from the middle of the bract that allows the fruit to be carried by the wind.The fragrant flowers attract honey bees. The Audubon Guide gives "Bee-tree" as an alternate name and mentions that honey from the nectar of these trees will have a strong flavor. Since I am not allergic to bees (just a little leery), I am not concerned but it will be interesting to look out for.Ohio Division of Forestry does mention some problems. One is insect pests, particularly Japanese beetles which attack the leaves.The wood of the linden tree is soft and light. "Ohio Trees" calls it a valuable timber tree and says it stains well. The Audubon Guide mentions its use for making food boxes, yardsticks, furniture and pulpwood and states that the Native Americans used the fibrous inner bark to make ropes and woven mats.So I have learned about another Ohio tree. This one will be interesting to watch next summer – and I will prune out the suckers earlier in the year so that it looks better in the yard.