Basswood
Classification:
Family: Malvaceae, mallow family
Genus, species: Tilia americana
Leaves:
Leaves are large, heart-shaped with asymmetrical base, coarsely toothed edges.
Bark:
Bark is dark gray with ridges and furrows.
Flowers:
Flowers are small with yellowish-white petals, hang in long-stalked clusters from a leafy bract.
Fruit:
Fruit is small, round, gray, hard, contains one to two seeds, hangs under a leafy bract that acts as a spinning parachute when ripe.
More Information:
The genus name Tilia is from the Latin for "wing," referring to the wing-like shape of the seed bract.
Photos:Basswood leaf
Basswood fruit
Basswood bark
