This tree is also commonly called basswood and lime wood (possible corruption of the Old English and Proto-Indo-European word lind (flexible). It is not related to citrus trees). The N. American version (Tilia americana) can be found from Mexico to Alaska, and there are two genus in Europe (little leaf- Tilia cordata, and large leaf- Tilia platyphyllos), which can be found in southern Norway and Sweden, down into Italy and as far east as the Black Sea. The little leaf genus is far more widespread, and can be found up into Russia and North-eastern Turkey as well as Spain.
The flowers very fragrant and are used for tea, the young berries taste a bit like chocolate if ground up with the dried flowers, the older seeds taste a bit like coffee, and the young leaves are tender and edible. The older leaves are edible as well, but tougher. The inner bark (cambium) is also edible and can be used as cordage. The sap can be tapped for syrup, but it doesn't have a very high sugar content. The flowers are loved by pollinators, and the wood is easy to carve, so it is useful for spoons and bowls. It doesn't split very easily, but is not as strong as maple. The trees don't start producing flowers or seeds until they become 15 years old.
The flowers have a mild sedative effect (in studies on mice), and have anti-oxidants and tannins. In Old English literature linden wood is mentioned as a source of wood for shields, possibly because it is light and doesn't split very easily.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874106003540
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilia_americana
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=linden
http://www.oldenglish-plantnames.org/lemma/full_lemma/698-lind?fake=3074550
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lind#Old_Norse
https://practicalselfreliance.com/foraging-for-linden/
No comments:
Post a Comment