Basswood
American basswood
American basswood is
a large and rapid-growing tree of eastern and central North
America. The tree frequently has two or more trunks and
vigorously sprouts from stumps as well as seed. American
basswood is an important timber tree, especially in the
Great Lakes States. It is the northernmost basswood species.
The soft, light wood has many uses as wood products. The
tree is also well known as a honey or bee-tree, and the
seeds and twigs are eaten by wildlife. It is commonly planted
as a shade tree in urban areas of the eastern states where
it is called American linden
Tree Description
It is a medium-sized
to large deciduous tree reaching a height of 20-40 m (exceptionally
43 m) with a trunk diameter of 1-1.3 m at maturity. The
crown is domed, the branches spreading, often pendulous.
The bark is gray to light brown, with narrow, well defined
fissures. The roots are large, deep, and spreading. The
twigs are smooth, reddish-green, becoming light gray in
their second year, finally dark brown or brownish gray,
marked with dark wart-like excrescences. The winter buds
are stout, ovate-acute, smooth, deep red, with two bud scales
visible. The leaves are simple, alternately arranged, ovate
to cordate, inequalateral at the base (the side nearest
the branch the largest), 10-15 cm (exceptionally 25 cm)
long and broad, with a long, slender petiole, a coarsely
serrated margin and an acuminate apex. They open from the
bud conduplicate, pale green, downy; when full grown are
dark green, smooth, shining above, paler beneath, with tufts
of rusty brown hairs in the axils of the primary veins;
the small stipules fall soon after leaf opening. The fall
color is yellow-green to yellow. Both the twigs and leaves
contain mucilaginous sap. The flowers are small, fragrant,
yellowish-white, 10–14 mm diameter, arranged in drooping,
cymose clusters of 6–20 with a whitish-green leaf-like
bract attached for half its length at the base of the cyme;
they are perfect, regular, with five sepals and petals,
numerous stamens, and a five-celled superior ovary. Flowering
is in early to mid summer; pollination is by bees. The fruit
is a small, globose, downy, hard and dry cream-colored nutlet
with a diameter of 8-10 mm
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