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
|
