Basswood

From BWCAWiki

For the lake, see Basswood Lake; for the river, see Basswood River.

Basswood (Tilia americana), or American Linden, is a medium-sized to large deciduous tree in the genus Tilia, native to eastern North America. It occurs from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Texas, and southeast to South Carolina. Its range fingers west along the Niobrara River to Cherry County, Nebraska. The common name Basswood is also applied to other species of Tilia in the timber trade.

It has a domed crown, reaching a height of 20-35 m, with a trunk diameter of 1-1.2 m. The twigs are reddish-green. The leaves are simple, alternately arranged, ovate to cordate, 10-15 cm (exceptionally 25 cm) long and broad, with a coarsely serrated margin. The fall color is yellow-green to yellow.

The flowers are small, fragrant, yellowish-white, arranged in drooping, cymose clusters in groups of 3-10 with a whitish-green leaf-like bract at the base of the cyme. The flowers are pollinated by bees. The fruit is a small, round, tomentose, cream-colored nutlet with a diameter of 7-10 mm.

Ecology

This species is dominant in the Acer saccharum - Tilia americana association. This forest cover type is most common in western Wisconsin and central Minnesota, but occurs as far east as New England and southern Quebec where the soils are mesic with relatively high pH. Basswood has minor occurrence in many other forest cover types.

Its flowers provide abundant nectar for insects. The seeds are eaten by chipmunks, mice and squirrels. Rabbits and voles eat the bark, sometimes girdling young trees.