Genus Tilia, L. (Basswood)

Leaves - simple/alternate; edge somewhat irregularly very sharp-toothed. Outline - rounded, often very one-sided. Apex - pointed. Base - strongly heart-shaped. Leaf - two to three inches long; thinner than the T. Americana, deep green and shining above, beneath somewhat downy. Bark - of the trunk very thick; on the young branches dark brown. Fruit - rounded, about one fourth of an inch in diameter, and with the base of the leaf-like bract to which it is attached usually rounded at the base. Found - in rich woods, from New York to Florida and westward.. General Information - A straight-trunked tree, twenty to thirty feet high (often unbranching to half its height) and two to four feet in diameter. Its very tough inner bark is used for mats and coarse rope. The wood is white and soft and clear of knots. It is much used for wooden ware, in cabinet-work, and for the paneling of carriages, though now less esteemed than the tulip tree for these uses, owing to its liability to crack in bending.

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