Deciduous trees decorate not only parks and squares, but also summer cottages. In addition to birch and poplar, linden, an unpretentious tree with a thick silky crown, is chosen for planting. The flowers and buds of the tree benefit human health, and without linden brooms it is difficult to imagine a Russian bathhouse.
The deciduous linden tree belongs to the Malvaceae family. Its various species grow throughout Russia, except for the regions of the Far North. The lifespan of the plant is surprising; some specimens live up to 1000 years. Thanks to its strong root system, the tree is so resilient.
General information, places of growth
Linden (Tilia).
The first information about linden as a subject of study is found already in 370-285. BC e. The Greek name for linden, according to Stromberg, means “tree loved by bees” or “tree that attracts swarms of bees.” And the botanical name of linden comes from the Greek word ptilon (wing) after the wing-shaped bract attached to the inflorescence. Carl Linnaeus in 1753 divided the genus Linden into two independent species: European linden and American linden. In 1763, the English botanist Miller first described an independent species of linden, and the German botanist Earhart gave it a little later the name - small-leaved linden. In the linden family there are up to forty genera, uniting about 500 plant species, distributed on all continents of the globe, but mainly in the tropical countries of Southeast Asia, tropical Africa, and Brazil. The genus Linden includes up to 45 species of linden, found in the temperate and partially subtropical climate of the Northern Hemisphere.
In Russia, 16 species of linden grow and 11 exotics have been introduced. In Ukraine and Moldova you can find European, large-leaved, tomentose, or Hungarian (silver) lindens, and in the Caucasus and Crimea - Caucasian linden, or Crimean, pubescent columnar, Ledebura. In some areas of the European part, American or black linden is cultivated; abandoned, variegated - all native to North America. In the Far East, linden is also not uncommon: Amur, Komarova, spreading, Take, Manchurian, Korean, Chinese, and Olivera lindens are common there.
Significant contributions to the diverse study of the linden genus were made by travelers and many scientists, mainly foresters and botanists. Most Russian and foreign authors recognize the very significant study of linden in Russian conditions. At the same time, emphasizing that the methods of studying and systematizing the linden genus by Russian scientists are more reliable than the corresponding data of foreign authors.
In terms of habitat, linden belongs to both forest species and trees cultivated artificially on city streets, along roads and alleys, in squares and parks, around fields, gardens, apiaries and ponds, in various hedges.
The small-leaved linden, which has a very similar species in Western Siberia - the Siberian linden, is distinguished by its greatest popularity, more significant economic significance and very wide natural range compared to other species.
Valuable breed
The ability of linden to tolerate shearing and pruning well, to easily reproduce by layering and to regenerate through root shoots has made it one of the most common garden trees. But lindens are not only beautiful honey plants and welcome guests in gardens, parks and city streets. A number of species of the genus are important forest-forming species.
And the practical significance of this tree for humanity is difficult to overestimate. Linden trees have served people since ancient times. From their soft, light and at the same time quite durable wood they made:
- dishes;
- furniture;
- plywood;
- musical instruments (guitars, flutes);
- and even puppets and sculptures were carved.
Bast was made from bast fibers (bast), and baskets, bast shoes, and ropes were woven from the bark of young trees (bast). Linden blossom is still widely used in folk medicine.
Long-lived
Linden is a very durable tree, usually living up to 400-600 years, and sometimes up to 1100-1200. For example, in Nuremberg there are trees dating back seven to eight centuries. In Kyiv, near the Church of the Tithes, a giant tree, whose age is close to a thousand years, is still preserved. On the streets of large cities, linden lives for about 80-100 years. However, this is not considered the limit, since in different cities there are known linden plantations that are more than 300 years old. The life expectancy of linden in Western Siberia does not exceed 300 years. Trees growing in the first tier with a small crown density are distinguished by the greatest durability. In the second tier, linden lives up to 100 years, and in the undergrowth - up to 25.
Small-leaved linden (Tilia cordata) is a tree of the first size, reaching a height of more than 30 m and more than 1 m in diameter. In unfavorable growing conditions, especially under a dense canopy of plantings, it is found in the form of an undergrowth shrub (for example, in pine forests) or in the second tier (in sandy loam subbords).
Small-leaved linden, growing in various forest growth zones, is characterized by polymorphism. Under certain environmental conditions and general properties, this species is characterized by individual variability and the identification of ecological forms. The natural range of small-leaved linden is quite wide compared to other types of linden, which are found less frequently and mainly in the form of artificial plantings. It covers a vast territory of Europe and part of Asia. However, the distribution of linden is very uneven and depends on the diversity of natural conditions and human activities. Small-leaved linden naturally grows in the south, west and southeast of England, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the northeastern part of Iran, northern Italy, Spain, and along the Carpathian islands. In our country, small-leaved linden grows in ravine oak groves of the steppe, in oak groves and pine forests of forest-steppe, in the zone of coniferous-deciduous forests, and partly in the taiga zone (southern and middle taiga). Occasionally, small-leaved linden can be found in the Crimea and the Caucasus, where it rises into the mountains up to 1800 m above sea level. In Siberia it is found in islands almost to the Irtysh. In Altai there is the Siberian linden. And in the Far East, small-leaved linden is replaced by Manchurian and Amur.
Linden trees: classification of subspecies.
In order to choose the right linden tree for a harmonious combination with other plants and landscape objects, you need to familiarize yourself with the characteristics of each subspecies. The heart-shaped linden, a photo of which you can see on our website, will take root well with:
- European types of linden - felt or silver;
- large-leaved;
- ordinary.
All of them feel great in the conditions of the European part of Russia, have a pyramidal crown, small or large serrated heart-shaped leaves. The ease of forming the crown allows you to create an original design for a linden alley or other design composition.
Linden, bark
In closed forest stands, linden trees have a relatively straight, thin, highly branched trunk with a highly raised, usually not very dense crown. In a relatively free state, the linden crown is dense and raised low. Its lower branches extend downwards from the trunk and rise at their tops. The middle branches extend from the trunk horizontally, and the upper ones at an upward angle. With such branching, its shoots are densely covered with dark green foliage with hanging semi-umbrellas of yellow-white flowers with yellow-green bracts, forming a tent-shaped, very decorative crown. When free, the trunk is covered almost to the base with branches. The crown reaches full development by the age of 40.
The bark of the linden trunk in youth is smooth, but in old age it becomes thick, deeply furrowed, with longitudinal cracks, dark gray in color, with a strongly pronounced crust.
Linden buds
The ovoid-shaped buds are arranged in two rows, smooth, reddish-brown in color, covered with two scales of unequal size. The length of the buds is 5-6 mm, width - 3-4 mm. They are dry on the outside. At rest, the bud has 5 leaves with stipules and two rudimentary leaves in the form of tubercles on the growth cone. Young leaves are densely hairy and folded in half along the midrib. Each leaf, located between two stipules, is covered with covering scales containing a mucous substance inside that protects the leaves from drying out and frost. Linden shoots are shiny reddish-brown in color, geniculate, covered with lentils.
Leaves
The leaves are simple, leathery, pointed, with a heart-shaped base, doubly and finely toothed at the edges, dark green glabrous above, and bluish-light green below with reddish hair beards in places where large veins branch. The petiole is 1-3 cm long with tomentose pubescence, bare and reddish by autumn. The arrangement of the leaves is regular. The leaf blade is asymmetrical. The densely leafy crown of the linden creates a large assimilation surface. With an average relative fullness of the first tier at the age of 100-120 years and an average diameter of 30-40 cm, there are up to 50 thousand leaf blades on one tree.
Linden leaves contain a huge amount of calcium, which promotes the rapid decomposition of litter without the formation of coarse humus, creating better physical properties of the soil and, ultimately, increasing its fertility. In one year of decomposition, the decrease in the dry mass of linden leaves from the original is 60%, i.e. significantly higher than that of hazel, elm, ash, birch and many other species. This decrease in leaf mass during decomposition occurs mainly during the spring-summer period, which is most favorable for the development of microorganisms and soil-litter invertebrate animals. Freshly fallen linden leaves contain about 10% ash, of which more than 3% is calcium. They are rich in potassium (about 1.3%), nitrogen (more than 1.9%), sulfur (0.5-1.0%).
Flower Festival
Flowering occurs in the summer months (late June - July). The flowers are small, in numerous corymbose inflorescences, each of which has a well-defined bract resembling a wing. It is leathery, colored in light green or yellowish tones, and turns brown in the fall.
Linden flowers, although small, are quite attractive. Their petals are colored yellowish-whitish, the stamens are numerous, well developed, surrounding the central pistil.
Lushly blooming linden trees seem to be covered with golden foam, behind which the leaves are sometimes indistinguishable. But the main advantage of linden blossom is its wonderful smell. During the flowering period, linden trees resemble buzzing beehives. The bees diligently collect a rich harvest of nectar, which will later turn into linden honey, fragrant in the hot summer.
Linden, roots
The root system of linden on loose and fertile soils is deep, powerful, well developed, has a deep taproot and highly developed lateral roots. Due to this, windblown trees are rare. In addition, the linden root system has a tiered structure, which allows it to use nutrients from all soil horizons and, most importantly, the underlying loam. When mixed with oak, its roots are located mainly in the upper horizons of the soil, making up the upper tier of the root system. Thanks to its depth and power, linden draws a large amount of ash elements from the underlying loam into the biological cycle, enriching the upper layers of the soil with them. Being plastic, the linden root system contributes to a more complete use by the plant of moisture and food elements contained in the soil layer. It also has a superficial root system, which is formed by lateral adventitious roots.
Recommendations for caring for the root system of a tree
Linden prefers moist, humus-rich soils, so it grows worse in poor, sandy soils. And the root system is less branched. In order for a tree to please with the beauty of its crown, flowering requires:
- Water regularly, controlling soil moisture.
- Weed, removing weeds.
- Loosen the soil to make the soil permeable to air and water.
- To protect the roots from frost, mulch the tree trunk with a layer of sawdust, peat or straw. A layer thickness of 10 centimeters will be sufficient.
Feed twice a year. In spring, linden needs organic fertilizers in the form of mullein, diluted in a ratio of 1:10. 25 grams of ammonium nitrate per 10 liters of water are also added to the solution. In October, nitroammophoska is used for feeding. Twenty grams of fertilizer should be diluted in a bucket of water and watered on the tree.
Caring for the linden root system will accelerate growth and turn it into a slender beauty with a spreading crown.
Linden, flowers
Linden flowers are bisexual, regular, 5-membered, small, in false umbels, collected in racemes; 5 sepals, 5-petalled corolla, 1 pistil, many stamens. The ovary is superior, 5-locular with two ovules in each ovule. In different conditions, small-leaved linden blooms in late June-early July, the average flowering time is 12-14 days. Linden of seed origin in plantations begins to bloom, as a rule, from 20-25 years or 5-10 years earlier than trees of coppice origin. With age, the number of flowers on a tree increases, and the sugar content in them changes slightly.
Flowering and nectar production in linden are determined by a number of geographical, climatic, biotic, ecological, edaphic, orographic, silvicultural-agrotechnical and many other specific features. The need to take them into account is explained by the fact that the linden tree begins to bloom when the bees have the opportunity to use its nectar most effectively.
Linden is a non-nectary plant. In its flowers, nectar is secreted by a special nectar-bearing tissue (the base of the petals of the calyx) and is held on the fleshy sepals on the inside. The nectar released in this way is not reabsorbed. To release nectar from such a “nectary” it is necessary that all parts of the plant are fully viable, elastic and contain a sufficient amount of water.
The linden tree reaches maturity at 20-30 years old and produces a large number of seeds almost every year. In open areas, fruiting begins at the age of 10, and in plantations - at 25 years and older, depending on the canopy density, and continues up to 200 years or more. Fruiting in older trees is rare and there are very few nuts on them. Linden seeds ripen in the fall and are collected from October throughout the winter.
The linden fruit is represented by 1-2 (less often 3)-seed nuts with 4-5 longitudinal, barely noticeable ribs. The shape is spherical or slightly elongated. A dense, water-impermeable shell covers the seeds. Without the shell, they contain more than 30% fat. Distribution of ripened linden seeds occurs with the help of the wind, especially over snow crust, or by animals (rodents) or birds. A distinctive feature of the seeds is low soil germination. Their germination rate is sharply reduced due to the fact that ripened seeds in the fall often remain hanging on the branches until the spring of next year, exposed to winter frosts.
Application in cosmetology and dermatology
Cosmetologists often use linden extracts to care for the neck, hair and facial skin. It has a powerful antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effect, which effectively fights acne, acne, while nourishing and moisturizing the skin.
For dry skin types, linden decoctions are prepared, mainly from the flowers of the plant, although sometimes nuts are also used. Oily and combination skin types prefer steam treatments with linden flowers. Normal skin loves a decoction of its leaves.
For hair care, medicinal shampoos or decoctions from plant elements are used. It is believed that linden makes hair silky, nourishes it, and saturates it with useful microelements. This is most noticeable when used on dry and damaged hair.
Linden hardiness
Linden is a typically shade-tolerant species. In this it is second only to beech, spruce, fir, and hornbeam. Linden seedlings are considered especially shade-tolerant, growing successfully under the cover of broad grass, and even requiring shading in open areas. Moreover, it is shade-tolerant under the forest canopy and itself greatly shades the soil.
Small-leaved linden is classified as a frost- and cold-resistant species. It belongs to the group of broad-leaved species that accompany oak, penetrates farthest to the north and grows in harsh climatic conditions. It is not afraid of frosts, as it blooms late. The frost tolerance of linden is explained by the short period of shoot growth, the high water-holding capacity of the leaves and their low respiration rate, especially in the first half of the growing season, as well as the high oil content in young branches. Due to the fact that linden fats contain unsaturated linolenic acid, which can easily and quickly oxidize with the release of heat, linden tolerates frosts down to 48 degrees during winter dormancy.
Frost cracks on the trunks of linden trees growing in closed plantations are very rare. More often they are visible on the southern side of the trunk and on the branches of separately growing trees and, apparently, are associated with a sharp change in air temperature in the spring. In severe winters with little snow, frosting of annual linden shoots and roots is observed, especially at a young age. Frost resistance is greatly reduced when the suction and skeletal roots are pruned. In linden seedlings it decreases due to a decrease in soil moisture at the end of the growing season. Sometimes the reasons for the death of linden in landscaping, along with others, are the lack of insulation of the coma with a layer of snow and the drying out of the roots in the coma. Linden is extremely sensitive to frost and snow accumulation, especially in the undergrowth.
In areas with strong spring winds, young sticky trees sometimes die from drying out. Due to the presence of a small number of stomata in the leaves, linden easily tolerates droughts, and in very severe droughts it only reduces growth. In strong sunshine, it is able to combat the relative dryness of the climate with its mosaic arrangement of leaves, the outer row of which forms a kind of solid green ball, shading a large area with the root system.
Linden does not tolerate flooding. It can withstand channel and nearby lake-channel flooding with cool waters for 10-20 days.
Linden is considered a smoke-resistant species and does not tolerate air pollution by gases well. In shady groups, on fertile soils with good moisture, its gas resistance increases. At a young age, sensitive to fire. During ground fires and light continuous spring fires, young growth is damaged in clearings. It produces many new shoots. Frequent ground fires in the forest weaken the growth ability of linden trees.
Small-leaved linden is able to adapt and grow in a variety of soil conditions, except for swampy, saline and dry soils. It grows best in loose, fresh, humus-rich soils.
In the zone of podzolic soils, the presence of linden at least in the undergrowth indicates high soil fertility. In the forest-steppe zone, the participation of linden in the composition of plantings indicates leaching of soils and average productivity growing conditions. The participation of linden in the undergrowth of pine forests in the southern forest-steppe also characterizes highly productive conditions. This is explained by the fact that linden litter prevents the formation of coarse humus in coniferous plantations and increases their productivity even when the linden itself develops poorly. The litter formed from the litter of leaves, pine needles, branches, bark, etc., with linden, decomposes and forms neutral humus. This litter contains a minimum of ash elements, which helps neutralize humus acids, reduces the acidity of the soil solution, and increases the degree of soil saturation.
After cutting down a tree, growth from the stump, as a rule, appears around the neck of the root, and due to its strong shade tolerance, its thinning occurs very slowly. The property of the linden tree to produce abundant growth from the stump persists until old age. However, with age, this ability decreases, but remains quite high up to 100-110 years. It is no coincidence that all the logging areas of the linden farm are replanted with linden without changing the species. This plays an important role in the formation of modern linden forests.
After clear cutting, linden shoots densely populate the cutting area and drown out the self-seeding and undergrowth of conifers.
The natural regeneration of linden varies in different types of forest. The largest amount of linden regrowth, mainly coppice, is observed in oak-snow linden forests, in sorrel and pine oak forests, and comparatively less in ash oak forests.
Linden tolerates pruning well; its crown can be given any shape - ball, oval, cube and cone. No wonder the tree is considered the queen of parks and alleys.
Artists and poets pay tribute to her beauty. In our green spaces, the linden tree is revered no less than the Arabs – the palm tree, the Greeks – the olive tree, and the Hindus – the fig tree.
What can damage the root system?
The growth and development of linden depends on the condition of the root system. Therefore, it is necessary to provide for those moments when the roots are damaged by diseases and pests, or suffer from improper care:
- Excess moisture in the soil and air leads to the formation of rot on the trunk and roots. White marble rot is the result of the action of the tinder fungus. A sick tree can be recognized by the curvature of the trunk and the appearance of cracks. To prevent the disease, it is necessary to feed the linden root system in time. If an infection appears, the affected areas are treated with a mixture of chalk and potassium permanganate.
- Young trees often die after planting. This happens due to the active activity of fungi that infect the roots of seedlings. Before planting, it is necessary to disinfect the soil. It is better to plant linden in the second ten days of May, when the earth warms up well.
- The linden root system does not tolerate soil salinity well when there is a lot of sodium in the area. To displace sodium, gypsum is used, which is added in an amount of 5 kilograms per square meter.
- Without loosening, the linden root system weakens and the tree is exposed to fungal infections and pests. It becomes more difficult for the tree to fight leaf rollers and caterpillars of the lacewing butterfly. To help the tree, it is necessary to burn plant debris after the leaves fall, and regularly loosen the soil under the linden tree.
