Basswood - Tilia americana

The basswood is a large, wide-spreading, round-topped tree with dense foliage. It is found in Iowa on cool, moist soils in coves and on north and east slopes. The basswood has been widely planted for street trees. The tree blossoms in late May or June, and the blossoms are a favorite with bees,yielding large quantities of honey.

The leaves are rounded or heart-shaped, with toothed margins and with one side of the base less rounded than the other. They are dull green above and lighter green beneath. They vary quite widely in size from 4 to 7 inches long.

The twigs are smooth and light brown to gray in color. The bark is light or silvery gray, and smooth or finely ridged on branches and young trunks.On older trunks the bark breaks into long, medium-narrow ridges and furrows, dark gray to almost black on the surface.

The tree has a very distinct fruit. It is an open cluster of hard nutlets borne on a stem which comes from the center of a narrow, elliptical, leaflike wing.