Tilia americana
American linden
Known as basswood for its useful fibrous bast (also see Ceiba speciosa), the American linden has larger leaves than the European lindens more often planted in California. Like those of most lindens, they are heart-shaped and lopsided at the base. The curious tongue-shaped bract attached to each flower cluster is also characteristic of the genus, and larger in T. americana than in the common European species.
Several basswoods are along Salvatierra Street, at 583, 585, 611, 613, and 625; some sprout vigorously from the base. Two upright trees at 501 Channing Avenue in Palo Alto may be the ‘Redmond’ cultivar. In T. americana, the flower clusters commonly bear 10 or more flowers or fruits – noticeably more than in T. platyphyllos or T. cordata, and a quick way to distinguish the American from either. And if you can peer into its flowers, you will see a few staminodes – sterile stamens broadened and somewhat petal-like. Linnaeus pointed to this feature to separate it from his European linden (see T. cordata).
- Bracewell (2005) identified the noted Salvatierra trees as Tilia ‘Moltkei’, then considered a hybrid but now a cultivar of T. americana – and very rare in North America (Jacobson 1996). His 2003 correspondence (Bracewell 2003) shows he was also considering ‘Moltkei’ for other campus lindens now identifiable as T. cordata, while still sorting out the distinctions among the species. The cultivar identification of the Salvatierra trees is therefore best regarded as uncertain, and they are treated here simply as T. americana.
- Main References for New Tree Entries.
- Bracewell, Ronald N. 2003. “Linden Rewrite.” Correspondence with K. Bartholomew, October 28. SC 896, Box 14. Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries.
About this Entry: Authored Sep 2026 by Sairus Patel.
