Linden

Botanical Name: Tilia vulgaris

Family: Tiliaceae

Other Names: Common lime, lime tree, lyne, Tilea europaea, tilea, tillet

Description: Tall deciduous tree up to 45m/150ft. Dark brown trunk. Leaves large heart shaped smooth above paler with a few tufts of fine white hair below. Flowers drooping clusters of heavily scented yellow blossom July

Native to: Europe

Parts Used: Flowers

Harvesting: Flowers June/July immediately after flowering

Preserving: Dry in shade

Actions: Astringent, antispasmodic, bechic, carminative, cephalic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emollient, nervine, sedative, tonic

Extraction: Solvent extraction from dried flowers

Constituents: Essential oil containing farnesol; mucilage, flavonoids, hesperidin, coumarin fraxoside, vanilla

Culinary Uses: Salads, teas

Skin: Rashes

Respiratory: Coughs, catarrh

  Digestion: Indigestion, liver

  Nervous System: Headaches, insomnia, migraine, nervous tension, stress

  Energetics: Smell: Flowery Element: fire Aids throat and mind

  Other Notes: Mostly adulterated or synthetic

Hybrid between broad leafed and small leafed

Sacred to the Teutonic people of Northern Europe

Associated with death