Tilia tomentosa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tilia tomentosa | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Foliage
|
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Tilia tomentosa Moench |
Tilia tomentosa (Silver Lime; also occasionally Silver Linden) 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.[1][2]
It is a deciduous tree growing to 20-35 m tall, with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. The leaves are alternately arranged, rounded to triangular-ovate, 4-13 cm long and broad with a 2.5–4 cm 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 bumble bees, to which the tree is somewhat toxic. The fruit is a dry nut-like drupe 8–10 mm long, downy, and slightly ribbed.[1][3]
[edit] Cultivation and uses
It is widely grown as an ornamental tree throughout Europe. The cultivar 'Brabant' has a strong central stem and a symmetrical conic crown. The cultivar 'Petiolaris' (Pendent Silver Lime) differs in longer leaf petioles 4–8 cm long and drooping leaves; it is of unknown origin and usually sterile, and may be a hybrid with another Tilia species.[1][3] It is very tolerant of urban pollution, soil compaction, heat, and drought, and would be a good street tree in urban areas, but for the problems it causes leaving numerous dead and comatose bumble bees on the street below the tree.[1][4]
Tea made from the flowers of T. tomentosa is antispasmodic, diaphoretic and sedative.[5]. This may be attributable to the presence of pharmacologically active ligands of benzodiazepine receptor [6]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
- ^ Flora Europaea: Tilia tomentosa
- ^ a b Mitchell, A. F. (1974). A Field Guide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-212035-6
- ^ Mitchell, A. F. (1996). Alan Mitchell's Trees of Britain. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-219972-6.
- ^ Plants For A Future: Tilia tomentosa, which cites Lauriault, J. (1989). Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada. Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. ISBN 0889025649
- ^ Viola, H., Wolfman, C., Levi de Stein, M., et al. (1994). "Isolation of pharmacologically active benzodiazepine receptor ligands from Tilia tomentosa (Tiliaceae)". Journal of ethnopharmacology 44 (1): 47–53. PMID 7990504.
