Tilia × europaea

Tilia × europaea, generally known as the common lime (British Isles) or common linden, is a naturally occurring hybrid between Tilia cordata (small-leaved lime) and Tilia platyphyllos (large-leaved lime). It occurs in the wild in Europe at scattered localities wherever the two parent species are both native.[1][2] It is not closely related to the lime fruit tree, a species of citrus.

Tilia × europaea
Avenue of common limes, Hampshire, UK.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Tilia
Species:
T. × europaea
Binomial name
Tilia × europaea
Synonyms
  • Tilia × vulgaris Hayne

Description
Tilia × europeae foliage

Tilia × europaea is a large deciduous tree up to 15–50 m (49–164 ft) tall with a trunk up to 2.5 m (8 ft) circumference. The base of the trunk often features burrs and a dense mass of brushwood.[3] The leaves are intermediate between the parents, 6–15 cm (2–6 in) long and 6–12 cm (2–5 in) broad, thinly hairy below with tufts of denser hairs in the leaf vein axils. The flowers are produced in clusters of four to ten in early summer with a leafy yellow-green subtending bract; they are fragrant, and pollinated by bees. The floral formula is ✶ K5 C5 A0+5∞ G(5).[4] The fruit is a dry nut-like drupe 8 mm (0.3 in) diameter, downy and faintly ribbed.[1]

Cultivation
Common limes in the landscape, King's Somborne, UK

This hybrid is very widely cultivated, being readily and inexpensively propagated by layering; as a result, it is often the commonest Tilia species in urban areas and along avenues and streets. It is not however the best species of this purpose, as it produces abundant stem sprouts, and also often hosts heavy aphid populations resulting in honeydew deposits on everything underneath the trees. Furthermore there is substantial leaf litter in autumn (fall).[1]

Notable trees

One long-lived example was the "Malmvik lime", planted as a sapling near the Malmvik Manor in Stockholm, Sweden in 1618. The tree existed for 381 years until the last part of the tree fell in a storm in 1999.[5] The UK TROBI Champion is at Aysgarth, Yorkshire, measuring 26 m in height and 295 cm d.b.h. in 2009.[6]

References
  1. Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
  2. Flora of NW Europe: Tilia × europaea
  3. Alan Mitchell, The Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe, William Collins & Co Ltd 1974, ISBN 0-00-219213-6 (p.359)
  4. Ronse De Craene, Louis P. (2010-02-04). Floral Diagrams: An Aid to Understanding Flower Morphology and Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-521-49346-8.
  5. Bengtsson, Rune (Winter 2004). "The Malmvik Lime: An Historical and Biological Analysis of the Oldest Documented Planting of Common Lime (Tilia x Europaea L.) in Sweden". Garden History. The Garden History Society. 32 (2): 188–196. doi:10.2307/4150380. JSTOR 4150380.
  6. Johnson, O. (2011). Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland.  p.165. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, London.
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