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Tilia caroliniana

Common name:	Carolina Basswood	Family:	Tiliaceae
Author:	Mill.	Botanical references:	11, 200
Synonyms:	Tilia floridana ((V.Engel.)Small.), Tilia ashei (Bush.), Tilia americana pubescens ((Aiton.)Loudon.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-eastern N. America - Virginia to Florida, west to Texas.
Habitat:	Grows best in rich moist woods, or in dense hummocks by streams in the south of its range[229].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	T. americana var. caroliniana[B,P] T. australis[B,P] T. caroliniana var. rhoophila[B,P] T. floridana var. hypoleuca[B,P] T. floridana var. oblongifolia[B,P] T. georgiana[B,P] T. leptophylla[B,P] T. leucocarpa[B,P] T. leucocarpa var. brevipedunculata[B,P] T. littoralis[B,P] T. porracea[B,P] T. pubescens[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Carolina Basswood [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Malvales. Linden family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 20m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 7 and is not frost tender. It is in flower in July, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. It is noted for attracting wildlife. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Canopy.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Tea.

Young leaves - raw[K].
A tea is made from the flowers.
A very good chocolate substitute is made from a paste of the ground fruits and flowers[2]. Trials on marketing the product failed because the paste decomposes readily[2].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antispasmodic; Diaphoretic; Sedative.

A tea made from the flowers is antispasmodic, diaphoretic and sedative[226].

Other Uses

Fibre; Wood.

A fibre is obtained from the tough inner bark It can be made into diverse items such as mats, shoes and coarse cloth[229].
Wood - soft, light, easily worked. Used for interior finishing, woodenware etc[149].

Cultivation details

Prefers a good moist loamy alkaline to neutral soil but succeeds on slightly acid soils[11, 200]. Grows poorly on any very dry or very wet soil[200. Dislikes exposed positions[200]. Succeeds in sun or semi-shade[188].
One report suggests that this tree is probably tender in Britain[11] whilst another says that it succeeds in zone 7, which means that it should be hardy in most of Britain[200].
A fast-growing tree in its native habitats[227], but it prefers a continental climate, growing more slowly and not producing fertile seed in areas with cool summers[200].
Lime trees tend to hybridise freely if other members of the genus are growing nearby[238]. If growing plants from seed it is important to ensure the seed came from a wild source or from an isolated clump of the single species[K].
Grows best in a woodland situation, young plants tolerate a reasonable level of side shade[200].
A good bee plant[149].
Trees are usually attacked by aphids which cover the ground and the leaves with a sticky honeydew[188].
Quite tolerant of root disturbance, semi-mature trees up to 5 metres tall have been transplanted successfully.
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - much of the seed produced in Britain is not viable, cut a few seedcases open to see if there is a seed inside[80]. If possible, obtain fresh seed that is ripe but has not as yet developed a hard seed coat and sow it immediately in a cold frame. It may germinate in the following spring though it could take 18 months[80]. Stored seed can be very slow to germinate. It has a hard seed coat, embryo dormancy and a hard coat on the pericarp. All these factors mean that the seed may take up to 8 years to germinate[80]. One way of shortening this time is to stratify the seed for 5 months at high temperatures (10°c at night, up to 30°c by day) and then 5 months cold stratification[80]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Layering in spring just before the leaves unfurl. Takes 1 - 3 years[78].
Suckers, when formed, can be removed with as much root as possible during the dormant season and replanted immediately[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Tilia americana var. caroliniana (a possible synonym).

[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Tiliaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[80] McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books 1985 ISBN 0-901361-21-6
Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.

[149] Vines. R. A. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press 1987 ISBN 0-292-78958-3
Fairly readable, it gives details of habitats and some of the uses of trees growing in Texas.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[226] Lauriault. J. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. 1989 ISBN 0889025649
Very good on identification for non-experts, the book also has a lot of information on plant uses.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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