Silver linden

Scientific Name: – Tilia argentea

Tilia tomentosa (Silver Lime in the UK and Silver Linden in the US) is a species of Tilia native to southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from Hungary and the Balkans east to western Turkey, occurring at moderate altitudes. It is a deciduous tree growing to 20äóń35 m tall, with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. The leaves are alternately arranged, rounded to triangular-ovate, 4äóń13Śćcm long and broad with a 2.5äóń4Śćcm petiole, green and mostly hairless above, densely white tomentose with white hairs below, and with a coarsely toothed margin. The flowers are pale yellow, hermaphrodite, produced in cymes of three to ten in mid to late summer with a pale green subtending leafy bract; they have a strong scent and are pollinated by honeybees. The nectar however contains sugars which cannot be digested by other bees, to whom the tree is somewhat toxic. The fruit is a dry nut-like drupe 8äóń10Śćmm long, downy, and slightly ribbed.

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