Scientific Illustration

tilia-cordata:

(Image source)

Tilia cordata (Little-leafed linden, also known as small-leaved lime)

I love lindens.  The flowers are cute and a little odd (they have those big wing-like bracts coming off the stem), and they smell lovely. You can also make them into a tea that’s really nice for colds and things (though you shouldn’t drink it too much because if I remember correctly it can make your heart race). 

I love the leaves - heart-shaped (hence ‘cordata’ in the name) and asymmetrical, and the trees are sturdy but not huge (versus Tilia americana, or basswoods, which are big solid trees.) 

There was a really lovely one in front of my dorm in college, and there’s a section of the arboretum near the university where I work now that has an amazing collection of them. When I first moved out west and was getting started at my job and feeling kind of homesick, one of the first places my partner took me was to the linden grove at the Arboretum, and it was just so rejuvenating.