Contents:
Common Names | Parts Usually Used | Plant(s) & Culture | Where Found | Medicinal Properties
Legends, Myths and Stories | Uses | Formulas or Dosages | Warning | Bibliography
Scientific Names
- Tilia americana L.
- Tiliaceae
- Linden family
Common Names
- American basswood
- American linden
- Bast tree
- Common lime
- Lime tree
- Linden
- Linden flower
- Spoonwood
- Wycopy
Parts Usually Used
Flowers and leaves, inner bark
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Description of Plant(s) and Culture
The basswood tree reaches a height of up to
Other lindens, like the commonly planted European linden, can be used in the same way.
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Where Found
Found in the eastern United States and in Canada; moist soil, in woods and forests, in uplands and valleys from Quebec to North Dakota and south to North Carolina and Oklahoma. Also planted in cities of this area.
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Medicinal Properties
Diaphoretic, stomachic Bark: emollient
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Legends, Myths and Stories
In Europe, many legends and superstitions are centered around these trees. Linden wood was used for carving sacred works of art, and the linden tree, which was the village tree, played an important role in the life of early Europeans. Thus it was only natural that special curative power was ascribed to these medicinal trees.
Among the Germanic peoples the linden was a “sacred” tree for people in love, the tree that brought fertility and prosperity. In the Middle Ages, people carved images of the Virgin Mary and figures of the saints from linden wood, calling the wood lignum sacrum, sacred wood.
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Uses
Used as a home remedy for colds, flu, coughs, fever, headaches, epilepsy, indigestion, and sore throats. The inner bark contains mucilaginous materials and makes a soothing application for skin irritations, boils, wounds, sores, and burns. A popular continental herb tea. Used in cosmetic preparations.
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Formulas or Dosages
Bark, leaves and flowers, dried in the shade.
Infusion: steep
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Warning
Frequent consumption of flower tea may cause heart damage.
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Bibliography
Back to Eden, by Jethro Kloss; Back to Eden Publishing Co., Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994
The Herb Book, by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974.
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke., Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000
Indian Herbalogy of North America, by Alma R. Hutchens, Shambala Publications, Inc., Horticultural Hall, 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, 1973
American Folk Medicine/i>, by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973
The Magic of Herbs, by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England. (Out of print)
Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, Victoria Neufeldt, Editor in Chief, New World Dictionaries: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023
How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine & Crafts, by Frances Densmore, Dover Publications, Inc., 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974
An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants, by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992).
The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book), edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. Emmaus, PA, 18049., 1974
The Healing Plants, by Mannfried Pahlow, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. 250 Wireless Blvd., Hauppauge, NY 11788, 1992