Uses
Toxic parts
If the flowers used for making tea are too old, they may produce symptoms of narcotic intoxication[1].
Edible uses
Notes
Young leaves - raw[2]. They make an excellent salad or sandwich filling, they are mild tasting and somewhat mucilaginous[K]. The leaves can be available from spring until early autumn from the young growths at the base of the tree[K]. A very acceptable chocolate substitute can be made from a paste of the ground-up flowers and immature fruit. Trials on marketing the product failed because the paste is very apt to decompose[2][3]. A popular herb tea is made from the flowers, it has a sweet, fragrant pleasant flavour[4]. Some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity. Sap - harvested in the spring, it is sweet and can be used as a drink or concentrated into a syrup[1].
Leaves
Sap
Material uses
A fibre from the inner bark is used to make mats, shoes, baskets, ropes etc[5][6][7][4][8][9]. It is also suitable for cloth[3]. It is harvested from trunks that are 15 - 30cm in diameter[3]. The fibre can also be used for making paper[10]. The stems are harvested in spring or summer, the leaves are removed and the stems steamed until the fibres can be stripped. The outer bark is removed from the inner bark by peeling or scraping. The fibres are cooked for 2 hours with lye and then beaten in a ball mill. The paper is beige in colour[10]. Wood - soft, white, easily carved. It is very suitable for carving domestic items and small non-durable items[1][6][4][8][3]. A charcoal made from the wood is used for drawing[4][8][3].
Medicinal uses(Warning!)
Lime flowers are a popular domestic remedy for a number of ailments, especially in the treatment of colds and other ailments where sweating is desirable[11]. A tea made from the fresh or dried flowers is antispasmodic, diaphoretic, expectorant, hypotensive, laxative and sedative[1][11][6][12][13]. Lime flower tea is also used internally in the treatment of indigestion, hypertension, hardening of the arteries, hysteria, nervous vomiting or palpitation[1][13]. The flowers are harvested commercially and often sold in health shops etc[12]. Lime flowers are said to develop narcotic properties as they age and so they should only be harvested when freshly opened[13]. A charcoal made from the wood is used in the treatment of gastric or dyspeptic disturbances and is also made into a powder then applied to burns or sore places[1].
Unknown part
Ecology
Ecosystem niche/layer
Ecological Functions
Nothing listed.
Forage
Nothing listed.
Shelter
Nothing listed.
Propagation
Seed - much of the seed produced in Britain is not viable, cut a few seedcases open to see if there is a seed inside[14]. If possible, obtain fresh seed that is ripe but has not as yet developed a hard seed coat and sow it immediately in a cold frame. It may germinate in the following spring though it could take 18 months[14]. Stored seed can be very slow to germinate. It has a hard seed coat, embryo dormancy and a hard coat on the pericarp. All these factors mean that the seed may take up to 8 years to germinate[14]. One way of shortening this time is to stratify the seed for 5 months at high temperatures (10°c at night, up to 30°c by day) and then 5 months cold stratification[14]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Layering in spring just before the leaves unfurl. Takes 1 - 3 years[15]. Suckers, when formed, can be removed with as much root as possible during the dormant season and replanted immediately[16].
Practical Plants is currently lacking information on propagation instructions of Tilia cordata. Help us fill in the blanks! Edit this page to add your knowledge.
It is growing well on my allotment in Hampshire, stony soil over chalk, and the bit of ground it is on didn't get any organic matter for several years and is fairly dry in summer but I suppose it hasn't dried out this year due to high rainfall. It is in full sun and is flowering it's heart out now; quite a pretty ground cover. ( Mid May )
Crops
Problems, pests & diseases
Associations & Interactions
There are no interactions listed for Tilia cordata. Do you know of an interaction that should be listed here? edit this page to add it.
Polycultures & Guilds
There are no polycultures listed which include Tilia cordata.
Descendants
Cultivars
Varieties
None listed.
Subspecies
None listed.
Full Data
This table shows all the data stored for this plant.
- Unknown part (Chocolate)
- Leaves (Unknown use)
- Sap (Unknown use)
- Unknown part (Tea)
- Unknown part (Charcoal)
- Unknown part (Fibre)
- Unknown part (Paper)
- Unknown part (Wood)
- Unknown part (Antispasmodic)
- Unknown part (Diaphoretic)
- Unknown part (Expectorant)
- Unknown part (Hypotensive)
- Unknown part (Laxative)
- Unknown part (Sedative)
- Unknown part (Skin)
References
- ? 1.01.11.21.31.41.51.61.71.8 Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 (1984-01-01)
- ? 2.02.12.2 Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications ISBN 0-486-20459-6 (1972-01-01)
- ? 3.03.13.23.33.43.53.6 Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. ()
- ? 4.04.14.24.34.44.5 Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim (1959-01-01)
- ? 5.05.1 F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press (1951-01-01)
- ? 6.06.16.26.36.4 Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn ISBN 0-600-33545-3 (1975-01-01)
- ? 7.07.1 Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press ISBN 0-87857-262-7 (1979-01-01)
- ? 8.08.18.28.3 Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable ISBN 0094579202 (1974-01-01)
- ? 9.09.1 Polunin. O. Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. Oxford University Press ISBN 0192176218 (1969-01-01)
- ? 10.010.110.2 Bell. L. A. Plant Fibres for Papermaking. Liliaceae Press (1988-01-01)
- ? 11.011.111.2 Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn ISBN 0-600-37216-2 (1981-01-01)
- ? 12.012.112.2 Lauriault. J. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. ISBN 0889025649 (1989-01-01)
- ? 13.013.113.213.3 Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. ISBN 0-7513-020-31 (1995-01-01)
- ? 14.014.114.214.3 McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books ISBN 0-901361-21-6 (1985-01-01)
- ? Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co (1948-01-01)
- ? 16.016.1 Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press ISBN 0-333-47494-5 (1992-01-01)
-
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