Linden Baum (Tree)

[Al Stangenberger]

Ekkyles (ekkyles at aol.com) wrote:
: On a recent trip to Germany a discussion of this tree came up and no one
: was able to identify the English word for this tree.  Do you know the
: English name for this tree?  It's a soft wood used for wood carvings.  All
: the German to English books call it a lime tree, but the citrus "lime"
: does not grow in Germany.

Linden is the common name for the genus Tilia (family Tiliaceae).
The English common name is basswood.

There are several European members of the genus, probably the most common
is Tilia europaea L..  The American counterpart is American basswood,
Tilia americana L..

It is not related to yellowpoplar (Liriodendron) as some other posters have
suggested.

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Al Stangenberger                      Univ. of California at Berkeley
forags at nature.berkeley.edu            Dept. of Env. Sci., Policy, & Mgt.
BITNET: FORAGS AT UCBNATUR            145 Mulford Hall # 3114
(510) 642-4424  FAX: (510) 643-5438   Berkeley, CA  94720-3114