Tilia americana American Lime (Basswood)

A distinctive lime tree which is native to North America, from Canada southwards. It is an important member of the ecologically important Sugar Maple-Basswood deciduous forests of northeastern America. It is quite variable and there are lots of named subspecies and varieties, but the sharply toothed leaves which have an oblique assymetric base (not cordate or heart-shaped like many other limes) are a fairly unambiguous identification feature. The underside of the leaves is often hairy along the veins, sometimes sparsely, but with prominent tufts of hairs in the vein joints and the dark-grey bark has vertical ridges. It is reputed to be less susceptible to aphid attack than other lime species and doesn't produce much honeydew. For that reason it is becoming a popular street tree in towns and cities. It produces lots of nectar-rich flowers in pendant groups of 5 or more, particularly in warm growing seasons, and these attract lots of pollinators, particularly bees. Good seed production requires warm summers and much of the seed produced is reluctant to germinate. It does not occur naturalised in West Glamorgan.