American Linden

(Tilia americana)

Date Planted: Approximately 1920

Family: Tiliaceae

Hardiness: Native, hardy in the Gorham, ME area; Zone 3b-8

Mature Dimensions: 60-80 feet in height, 30-40 feet in width

Habit: Numerous, slender, low hung, spreading branches; somewhat rounded crown

Bark: Tough, grayish-brown bark broken into many long, narrow flat-topped ridges

Buds: Terminal bud absent; lateral buds teardrop shaped, ¼ inch long, reddish brown or greenish and slightly downy at apex

Leaves: Simple, alternate, heart-shaped; 4-8 inches by 4-8 inches, coarsely serrate. Dark green summer color turns to pale yellow in autumn

Flowers: Appear with the first of July in Gorham; perfect and pale yellow, the flowers are clustered in pendulous groups of 10-15; particularly attractive to bees with a sweet fragrance

Fruit: A nutlike structure ½ inch in length; gray, wooly and thick-shelled

Pests/ Diseases: Japanese beetle, linden borer, gypsy moth; canker

Reference Pages:  Dirr M.1998. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants. Stipes Publishing Co., Champaign IL.