Episode 8: Linden Lime

Tilia cordata

Earlier this year my daughter and I attended an event in Portland --it doesn't matter what because it didn't amount to much anyway. But walking down the street we were both dazzled by the illumination eminating from a common street tree, Tilia cordata.

Tilia cordata 'Akira Gold'

Tilia cordata 'Dwarf Weeper' 

Tilia cordata 'Lico'

Well, I assumed the tree was the "little-leaf linden," but I'm certainly not an expert on the genus. I have grown just one Tilia at the Flora Wonder Arboretum --T.c. 'Akira Gold'-- and my interest in it was because I saw the original selection at the Shibimichi Nursery in Japan a few years ago. When mine was about 8' tall, and still in a container, I intended to ground it into the collection, but with the sale of all my nursery holdings, my special tree fell victim to the bottom line. There are dwarf limes that I have seen in Europe, and coveted, such as T.c. 'Dwarf Weeper' and 'Lico', the latter a neat little cone and I can imagine a pair of them standing sentinel to a garden entrance.

Tilia x euchlora 

Tilia x euchlora 

Tilia x europa

One factor that clouds the identity of Tilia, at least for me, is that the 30-or-so species that comprise the worldwide genus are apt to hybridize. Nothing wrong with that --I did the same with my Japanese wife-- and we produced a couple of interesting offspring, so I celebrate the co-mingling of people as well as plants from around the world. I have encountered a few of these inter-minglements such as Tilia x euchlora and Tilia x europa. The latter is known as the "Common lime" (T. cordata x T. platyphyllos), the most commonly planted lime, often used as an avenue tree, especially in Europe, but unfortunately it's afflicted with "honey-dew" produced by aphids. Kind of creepy to be under an allee of them in late summer. T. x euchlora is T. cordata x T. dasystyla, the pollen from a rare Crimean species.

Aphrodite

The word tilia comes from Greek ptelea meaning "elm tree" and tillai which means "Black poplar." It was Linnaeus who established the name scientifically in 1753 in Species Plantarum. In Greek mythology the linden was Aphrodite's favorite because of the perfume of its flowers.

Tilia cordata in Germany

I have a long-ago memory of visiting an extremely old Tilia in northern Germany. I was with the late JRP van hoey Smith of Arboretum Trompenburg and some other plant people. A plaque indicated the old lime dates from 850, so soon it will be 1,175 years old. Hats off to the old venerable, although honestly it was not a particularly attractive tree. Still it commanded its own little square in the small village, and appeared moderately healthy, and can maybe continue for another century or two. I can't remember why --who said?-- but I came away with the notion that we were paying homage to a Tilia cordata. But since observing other species and hybrids after that Euro visit, I'm now not so sure if T. cordata is accurate. I'll try to find out.

Lime tree from Kaditz

Flora enjoys the limes, in spite of their dripping aphid juice, and my first awareness of such tree was not visual, rather because they're often featured in (the translated) versions of German and Russian literature. Another hobby. In verse they were never identified scientifically, so I wasn't sure but I thought lime must be a Russian common name, and surely the citrus lime was out of the question.

Tilia cordata

Tilia platyphyllos

Flora was delighted with the "leaking light" aspect (Komorebi) from two different lindens growing far from each other.