Basswood

Tilia americana

Basswood 

This deciduous tree may not be much to look at in the fall when its leaves turn brown, but during late spring and early summer it grows fragrant flowers that attract honeybees, who in turn produce sweet and floral tasting basswood honey from its nectar. The basswood’s timber is lightweight, making it a poor choice for construction but an excellent choice for musical instruments such as guitars and piano keys. It is also used to make yardsticks, crates, boxes, and other smaller items. Both Native Americans and early settlers used the tree’s inner fibers to make ropes, cords and woven baskets, and its fibrous inner bark is still used today to make ropes and fish netting.  

The following identification information is from Trees of Alabama, a Gosse Nature Guide by Lisa J. Samuelson. Use of this text was permitted by the University of Alabama. Order your own copy of this great guide to Alabama’s trees here: https://www.amazon.com/Trees-Alabama-Gosse-Nature-Guides/dp/0817359419

Hibiscus or Mallow Family (Malvaceae)  

Basswood Tilia americana L. var. heterophylla (Vent.) Loudon  

Tilia americana L. var. caroliniana (Mill.) Castigl.  

COMMON NAMES mountain basswood and white basswood (heterophylla variety); southern basswood and Carolina basswood (carolininana variety)  

QUICK GUIDE Leaves alternate, simple, asymmetrically heart shaped, margin sharply serrate; fruit a nutlet attached to a leafy bract; bark gray-brown with flattened ridges. Southern basswood is found in the lower Southern Coastal Plain and has leaves with a gray or brown underside and tomentose hair, and lateral buds 3-5 mm (0.1-0.2 in) long. Mountain basswood is found in southern Appalachian forests and the Piedmont and has leaves with a pale or white underside and stellate tomentose hairs, and larger     (5-8 mm [0.2-0.3 in] long) lateral buds.   

DESCRIPTION Leaves are alternate, simple, deciduous, asymmetrically ovate to heart shaped, and 10-20 cm (3.9-7.9 in) long; apex is acuminate; base is cordate and inequilateral; margin is sharply serrate; underside is glabrous or pubescent; autumn color is yellow. Twigs zigzag and are moderately stout and green to red-brown; leaf scar is semicircular with numerous bundle scars. A true terminal bud is lacking; lateral bud is divergent, ovoid, and plump; scales are two to three, green or maroon, and overlapping. Flowers are perfect, yellowish, fragrant, long-stalked, and attached to a leafy bract; flowers bloom in late spring or early summer. Fruit is a nutlet, 5-8 mm (0.2-0.3 in) wide, pubescent, long-stalked, and attached to a leafy bract; fruit matures in late summer or early fall. Bark is gray-brown and smooth or shallowly grooved on small trees; large trees are more deeply furrowed with flattened or somewhat scaly fibrous ridges. The growth form is up to 36 m (120 ft) tall and 1.2 m (4 ft) in diameter.  

HABITAT The northern variety is found on moist, fertile soils, and the Southern Coastal Plain variety is found in mesic forests on sandy or limestone soils.  

NOTES The taxonomy of Tilia is confused and some authors consider all varieties as one species. Basswood is found in association with many tree species. The wood is white to yellow-brown, light, soft, and fine textured, and is used for plywood, furniture, crates, boxes, turnery, guitars, piano keys, and woodenware. The fibrous inner bark was used for making ropes, fishnets, and mats. Basswood can be planted as an ornamental and cultivars are available. The flowers are very popular with honey bees, and their nectar is the source of basswood honey. The foliage is lightly browsed by white-tailed deer and rabbit, and seeds are eaten by squirrel and other small mammals. The dried leaves were used as winter fodder for cattle.  

Tilia is Latin for “linden tree”; americana refers to the New World.