Everything about Tilia Platyphyllos totally explained
Tilia platyphyllos is a deciduous
tree native to much of
Europe, including locally in southwestern
Great Britain, growing on
lime-rich soils. The common name
Large-leaved Linden is in standard use throughout the English-speaking world except in Britain, where it has largely (but not universally) been replaced by the name
Large-leaved Lime. It is frequently planted as an ornamental tree in parks, or as a shade tree or a lawn tree. It has been introduced in the US (New England).
It is a narrowly domed tree with a moderate growth rate, and can eventually attain a height of 40 m. The reddish-brown young
stems later develop dark gray
bark with fine fissures and furrows. The branches spread upwards at wide angles. The
twigs are reddish-green and slightly pubescent.
The
foliage consists of simple, alternately arranged
leaves. As indicated by its common name, this tree has larger leaves than the related
Tilia cordata (Small-leaved Linden), 6 to 9 cm (exceptionally 15 cm). They are ovate to cordate, mid to dark green above and below, with white downy hair on the underside, particularly along the veins, tapering into a mucronate tip. The margin is sharply serrate, and the base cordate; the venation is palmate along a midrib. The pubescent
petiole is usually 3-4 cm long, but can vary between 1.5-5 cm. The autumn foliage is yellow-green to yellow.
The small, fragrant, yellowish-white
flowers are arranged in drooping, cymose clusters in groups of 3 to 4. Their whitish-green, leaf-like
bracts have an oblong-obovate shape. The geniculate peduncles are between 1.5-3 cm long. The
hermaphroditic flowers have 5
sepals and 5
tepals, numerous
stamens, but no staminodes. The superior
ovary is 2-10 locular with one smooth
style. The flowers are pollinated by bees.
The
fruit is a small, round, tomentose, cream-colored nutlet with a diameter of 1 cm or less. It has a woody shell with 3-5 ridges.
There are several
cultivars offered commercially in nurseries, including 'Rubra' (red twiiged) and 'Tortuosa' (twisted branches).
Tilia platyphyllos readily
hybridises with
Tilia cordata, the hybrid being the Common Lime
Tilia × europaea (syn.
Tilia × vulgaris).
Medicinal Uses
Although
Tilia cordata is listed as the preferred medicinal species,
T. platyphyllos is also used medicinally and somewhat interchangeably. The dried flowers are mildly sweet and sticky, and the fruit is somewhat sweet and mucilaginous. Linden tea has a pleasing taste, due to the aromatic
volatile oil found in the flowers. The flowers, leaves, wood, and charcoal (obtained from the wood) are used for medicinal purposes. Active ingredients in the linden flowers include
flavonoids (which act as
antioxidants), volatile oils, and mucilaginous constituents (which soothe and reduce inflammation). The plant also contains tannins that can act as an astringent.
Linden flowers are used in colds, cough, fever, infections, inflammation, high blood pressure, headache (particularly migraine), as a diuretic (increases urine production), antispasmodic (reduces smooth muscle spasm along the digestive tract), and sedative. The flowers were added to baths to quell hysteria, and steeped as a tea to relieve anxiety-related indigestion, irregular heartbeat, and vomiting. The leaves are used to promote sweating to reduce fevers. The wood is used for liver and gallbladder disorders and cellulitis (inflammation of the skin and surrounding soft tissue). That wood burned to charcoal is ingested to treat intestinal disorders and used topically to treat edema or infection, such as cellulitis or ulcers of the lower leg.
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