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Tilia americana, photographed by an iNaturalist contributor
(c) Misha Zitser, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) · CC BY-NC
#37 most planted

Tilia americana

American basswood · also American linden, Basswood, White basswood

BroadleafDeciduous
64,396
trees mapped
0.63%
of all named trees
29
cities
6.3 in
median trunk (16 cm, 60,896 measured)
18 yr
median age (28% have a planting date)

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American Basswood is a large, broad-crowned tree with heart-shaped leaves and fragrant, yellowish flowers. It is valued in urban landscapes for its shade and attracts pollinators. The tree's soft wood is used for carving, but it can be susceptible to honeydew drip from aphids.

Where it grows

Trees in each city's inventory, with the share of that city's named trees this species accounts for.

  1. New York City · United States
    12,911—9.0 in
  2. Toronto · Canada
    9,433—3.1 in
  3. Denver · United States
    5,807—9.0 in
  4. Berlin · Germany
    4,73043 yr13 in
  5. Winnipeg · Canada
    4,669—2.4 in
  6. Montreal · Canada
    4,29918 yr15 in
  7. Ottawa · Canada
    3,706—6.3 in
  8. Edmonton · Canada
    3,2805.4 yr2.4 in
  9. Amsterdam · Netherlands
    2,74656 yr16 in
  10. Quebec City · Canada
    2,1797.9 yr5.9 in
  11. Washington, DC · United States
    1,8643.9 yr3.3 in
  12. Halifax · Canada
    1,7515.8 yr4.7 in
  13. Longueuil · Canada
    1,227—7.5 in
  14. Mississauga · Canada
    1,107—7.9 in
  15. Vancouver · Canada
    1,034—16 in
  16. Boston · United States
    1,022—16 in
  17. Kingston · Canada
    754—3.1 in
  18. Paris · France
    463—12 in
  19. Burlington, ON · Canada
    323—3.9 in
  20. Lethbridge · Canada
    2559.8 yr3.1 in
  21. Moncton · Canada
    194—12 in
  22. London · United Kingdom
    173—0.9 in
  23. Burlington · United States
    1484.8 yr2.0 in
  24. Calgary · Canada
    139—2.0 in
  25. Ajax · Canada
    106—2.0 in
  26. Victoria · Canada
    48—14 in
  27. Helsinki · Finland
    157.8 yr2.0 in
  28. San Francisco · United States
    12—4.0 in
  29. New Westminster · Canada
    1—21 in

Traits

Form
Broadleaf
Foliage
Deciduous
Mature height
40–70 ft
Canopy spread
20–25 ft
Growth rate
Moderate
Water needs
Moderate
Drought tolerance
Moderate
Wildlife value
High
Blooms
Jun, Jul, Aug

Trunk diameters across every city: median 6.3 in, mean 9.3 in, 90th percentile 21 in. Measured at breast height, as published by each inventory.

Native range

Terrestrial ecoregions where this species is native. Trees in the dataset mostly stand well outside it.

Temperate Broadleaf & Mixed Forests

  • Gulf of St. Lawrence lowland forests
  • Northeast US Coastal forests

Other Tilia in the catalogue

21 of the top 2,000 species are in this genus.

Interested in talking trees? arborary.world@gmail.comTree data © the respective municipal publishers and © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).