WHITE BASSWOOD
Tilia heterophylla Vent.
Growth Form: Medium to large tree up to 70 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 2 feet; crown broadly spreading.
Bark: Brown, scaly, deeply furrowed.
Twigs: Slender, pale red-brown, smooth; leaf scars alternate, half-elliptical, with 3 to several bundle traces.
Buds: Ovoid, red, usually smooth, up to ¼ inch long.
Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades ovate, pointed at the tip, heart-shaped at the asymmetrical base, up to 6 inches long, about half as wide, coarsely toothed along the edges, green and more or less smooth on the upper surface, densely covered with white hairs on the lower surface; leafstalks up to 2 inches long, more or less smooth.
Flowers: Several in clusters on a long stalk attached to a paddle-shaped structure, each flower fragrant, greenish-yellow, hairy, with 5 petals, appearing in June and July.
Fruit: Hard, more or less spherical, somewhat pointed at the tip, up to ⅓ inch in diameter, reddish-brown, finely hairy.
Wood: Light in weight, close-grained, strong, not durable.
Uses: Paper pulp, fuel.