Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

Back to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven

Tilia heterophylla

Common name:	White Basswood	Family:	Tiliaceae
Author:	Vent.	Botanical references:	11, 43, 200
Synonyms:	Tilia americana heterophylla ((Vent.)Loudon.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Eastern N. America - New York to Florida.
Habitat:	Buffs and slopes of ravines and by streams[159]. Found in rich woods in the Appalachians[43].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	T. americana var. heterophylla[B,G,P] T. eburnea[B,P] T. heterophylla var. michauxii[B,P] T. lasioclada[B,P] T. michauxii[B,P] T. monticola[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	American Basswood [P], White Basswood [H,L],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	heterophylla = differently leaved
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Malvales. Linden family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 30m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 5 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. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 2/5 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. A nice mild flavour with a slightly mucilaginous texture[K]. They go well in a mixed salad, though I have found that on their own they tend to leave a slightly rough feeling in the throat[K].
The dried flowers make a refreshing tea substitute[159].
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 Poultice Sedative.

A tea made from the flowers is antispasmodic, diaphoretic and sedative[226].
A decoction of the inner bark has been used in the treatment of dysentery[257].
A decoction of the bark, mixed with cornmeal, has been used as a poultice in the treatment of boils[257].
A decoction of the inner bark and twigs has been used during pregnancy to treat heartburn, weak stomach and weak bowels[257].

Other Uses

Fibre Wood.

A fibre is obtained from the tough inner bark It can be made into diverse items such as rope, mats, shoes and coarse cloth[229, 257].
Wood - soft, light, weak, straight grained[229, 235]. It weighs 26lb per cubic foot[235]. Widely used in interior finishing, cabinet making, woodenware, paper making and for piano keyboards[229].

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].
A moderately fast growing and long-lived species in the wild[229]. It prefers a continental climate, growing more slowly and not producing fertile seed in areas with cool summers[200]. It is fairly susceptible to forest fires because it has a thin bark[229].
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].
Trees are usually attacked by aphids which cover the ground and the leaves with a sticky honeydew[188].
Closely related to T. americana[11].
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

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

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

[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.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[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.

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[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.

[159] McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press 1977 ISBN 0-253-28925-4
A nice pocket guide to this region of America.

[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.

[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.

[235] Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5
Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.

[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.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

Main Search Page Help 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
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Tilia+heterophylla
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Tilia+heterophylla

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.

Pathways Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Privacy Policy :: Philosophy :: The Witchs Haven

We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.