TILIACEAE
Basswood
Tilia americana L.
HABIT.—A tree usually 60-70 feet high, with a tall, straight trunk 2-4 feet in diameter; numerous slender branches form a dense, ovoid or rounded crown.
LEAVES.—Alternate, simple, 5-6 inches long, 3-4 inches broad; obliquely heart-shaped; coarsely serrate; thick and firm; glabrous, dull dark green above, paler beneath; petioles slender, 1-2 inches long.
FLOWERS.—June-July, after the leaves; perfect, regular; yellowish white, downy, fragrant; borne on slender pedicels in loose, drooping cymes, the peduncle attached for half its length to a narrow, oblong, yellowish bract; sepals 5, downy; petals 5, creamy white; stamens numerous, in 5 clusters; ovary 5-celled; stigma 5-lobed.
FRUIT.—October; globose, nut-like, woody, gray, tomentose, about the size of peas.
WINTER-BUDS.—Terminal bud absent; lateral buds ovoid, acute, often lopsided, smooth, dark red, 1/4 inch long.
BARK.—Twigs smooth, reddish gray, becoming dark gray or brown; dark gray and smooth on young stems, on old trunks thick, deeply furrowed into broad, scaly ridges.