Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
basswood
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
Cluster of heart-shaped green leaves and pale bracts with small round fruits on an American linden (Tilia americana) tree. American linden
Quizzes
Spreading oak tree in summer. (green, leaves, deciduous, shade)
Trees: Giants Holding the Sky
Field of baobab trees, Madagascar. (bottle tree)
Trees of the World
Venus's-flytrap. Venus's-flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) one of the best known of the meat-eating plants. Carnivorous plant, Venus flytrap, Venus fly trap
Plants: From Cute to Carnivorous
Quick Facts
Also called:
American linden, whitewood, or American basswood
Related Topics:
linden
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Cluster of heart-shaped green leaves and pale bracts with small round fruits on an American linden (Tilia americana) tree.
Basswood American basswood, also called American linden (Tilia americana). The light green structures are bracts that aid in seed dispersal.

basswood

tree
Also known as: American basswood, American linden, Tilia americana, whitewood(Show More)
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
Last updated
•History

basswood, (Tilia americana), species of linden tree of the hibiscus, or mallow, family (Malvaceae) common to North America. Basswood is found in a vast area of eastern and southeastern North America and centred in the Great Lakes region. A large shade tree, basswood provides wood for beehives, crating, furniture, and excelsior (wood fibres). It is also a popular honeybee tree; basswood honey is pale and of distinctive flavour. The Carolina basswood (formerly Tilia caroliniana), white basswood (formerly T. heterophylla), and the Georgia basswood (formerly T. georgiana) have undergone taxonomic revisions and are now usually classified as varieties of T. americana.

Basswood is a large, graceful, deciduous tree, reaching 40 metres (130 feet) in height. The asymmetrical leaves are heart-shaped and coarsely toothed. The fragrant cream-coloured flowers are bisexual and pollinated by insects. The small globular fruits characteristically hang from narrow leafy bracts, which may aid in dispersal.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.