Linden is a beautiful large deciduous tree that lives for 300-400 years or more. Individual trees live up to 600 years. She is beautiful at any time of the year. In summer, in the heat in the lime park there is a lot of shade, a blessed coolness reigns. In early autumn, on warm sunny September days, linden pleases with elegant golden-yellow foliage. Even in late autumn, the lime park is very beautiful. The whole ground turns yellow from fallen leaves, and against this background, the black columns of the trunks stand out especially sharply. In a word, the linden park has its own special charm. Among the ancient Slavs, linden was dedicated to the goddess of love and beauty Lada. Among the ancient Germans, a linden tree was planted in the center of villages, general meetings gathered around it and justice was administered. In German, the expression "Unter der Linde kommt die Wahrheit zutage" is even preserved - the truth is revealed under a linden tree. Linden was a family tree and the head of the family, after the birth of a son, had to plant a linden. It was dedicated to the German goddess of love Freya.
In parks, linden is planted in rows, creating shady linden alleys, fragrant with aroma during the flowering period and filled with the buzzing of bees that flock to it for honey. Landscape designers even manage to form hedges out of it. But for phytotherapists, linden is, first of all, a wonderful and aromatic medicine for colds. The name of the genus comes from the Greek "teleja" - derived from the word "ptilon" - wing, which indicates the pterygoid cover leaf of the inflorescence.
There are 11 species of linden in the CIS countries. All species are large trees. The total area of lime plantations on the territory of the former Soviet republics is estimated at about 1.2 million hectares. All these types are used in folk medicine, some are allowed during the official procurement of raw materials. Although for medicinal purposes, mainly small-leaved linden inflorescences are used, which is associated with its very extensive range.
Read about the medicinal use of linden in the article Useful properties of linden.
Small-leaved linden, or heart-shaped (Tilia cordata Mill. syn. Tiliaparvifolia Ehrh.) Belongs to the Linden family (Tiliaceae) and is a large deciduous tree up to 25-28 m tall with a slender trunk and wide crown. The bark of young trees is smooth, olive or reddish-brown, in old trees it is darker, longitudinally furrowed. The buds are oval, obtuse, red or yellow-brown. The leaves are alternate, with early decaying stipules, petioles 2.5-4.5 cm long and a heart-shaped plate 3-9 cm in diameter (on shoots up to 15 cm) with a retracted-pointed tip; along the edge they are finely toothed, glabrous, glaucous below, with barbs of red hairs in the corners between the veins.
Flowers about 1 cm in diameter, five-membered, collected in 3-15 loose corymbose inflorescences with an oblong light yellow bract leaf 3-7 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, fused up to half with the inflorescence axis; sepals ovate, short-pointed at the end, 3-5 mm long, woolly pubescent along the edges, especially at the apex; the petals are creamy, lanceolate or obovate, obtuse at the apex, 4-6 mm long; stamens are numerous, accrete in 5 bundles; pistil with an upper 5-nested ovary, a bare column and 5 stigmas. Fruits are almost rounded tomentose-pubescent nuts with a diameter of 4-8 mm.
Linden is propagated by seeds. When a tree is cut down, coppice regeneration is often observed. Linden blooms in June-July, fruits ripen in August-September.
Linden seeds, once on the ground, never germinate in the first spring. Before germinating, they lie for at least a year. Why is it so slow? What prevents them from germinating? The point is as follows. For normal germination, the seeds must undergo a fairly long cooling at a temperature of about zero, and, moreover, in a moist state. This process is called stratification.In winter, the seeds fall dry and do not have time to undergo stratification until spring. We have to wait for the next winter, after which they already acquire the ability to germinate.
The range of the heart-shaped linden forms a wedge, with a wide base facing the west of the European part of the USSR, narrowing to the east and only slightly entering Western Siberia. There is a large "linden island" in the Kuznetsk Alatau. Small-leaved linden is also found in the Crimea and the Caucasus, in the upper mountain belt, but much less frequently than other species of this genus.
In Russia, the heart-shaped linden is widespread in the forest and forest-steppe zones of the European part, in the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Southern Urals, and enters Western Siberia. This shade-tolerant tree is widespread in deciduous and coniferous-deciduous forests of the middle zone of the European part of the USSR. Pure linden forests or with a small admixture of other species (elm, maple, oak) occupy large areas in the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in the western foothills of the Urals; mixed forests with oak and pine are also common here, where linden is located in the second tier. To the north, in the zone of mixed coniferous forests, linden forms only an undergrowth: tolerating shading well, it can exist under the canopy of spruce forests. To the north, it goes farther than an oak, as it is less demanding on soils, but near the limit of its distribution it becomes thinner, takes on a shrub form and rarely blooms.
There are about 50 species of linden in the Northern Hemisphere.
The second most important species when harvesting raw materials is flat-leaved linden, or large-leaved (Tiliaplatyphyllos syn. Tiliagrandifolia). It is widespread in the western regions of Ukraine and differs from the heart-shaped linden by its parallel veins on the lower surface of the leaf and a denser, woody shell of the fruit. This species is widespread in Western Europe and is called Sommerlinde, which translates as "summer linden", in contrast to the small-leaved linden, which is called "winter linden".
In addition to the official types of linden, it is practically permissible to collect inflorescences from other types of linden: Caucasian linden (T. caucasica Rupr.) - in the Caucasus and Crimea, linden felt (T. argentea Desf.) - in Transcarpathia and Moldova, Siberian linden (T. sibirica Fisch.) - in Western Siberia and Amur linden (T. amurensis Kom.) - in the Far East. But not only these species are harvested.
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In the Far East, there are three species of linden that are of commercial importance: in addition to the Amur linden (T. amurensis) - linden Take(T. taquetii) and linden manchurian(T. mandshurica). Found listed in the Red Book linden Maksimovich(T. maximowicziana).
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All of these types are actively used in local folk medicine.
From Europe to the Amur
In folk medicine of various peoples, local species were used. And it is them that are studied by regional scientific institutions. In many cases, very interesting and useful properties of other types of linden are found. So, Amur linden flowers (T. amurensis) in the form of a decoction were used in Korean medicine internally for laryngitis, tonsillitis. In the Russian Far East, they were used as a sedative; with stomach cancer; with jade; decoction (rinsing) with angina. In clinical trials, Amur linden flower teas stimulate the central nervous system; powder and infusions in the experiment (rats) showed an increase in motor activity.
Begonia-leaved linden (T. begoniifolia Stev), growing in the Caucasus, in Adygea in the form of poultices and lotions was used for arthritis, burns, ulcers, mastitis, inflammation of hemorrhoidal cones.
European linden (T. europaea L.), which is a spontaneous hybrid of other linden species, also has many beneficial properties. Wood (coal) in the form of a powder in a complex composition was used locally as an analgesic for toothache. Flowers in the form of an infusion or decoction have sokogonny and antiseptic properties, have a beneficial effect on the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines, bronchi, sweat glands.In folk medicine, vinegar tincture was used as a detoxifying agent for stupor. Herbal preparations have anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, stimulating, wound healing effect; infusions - hypoglycemic. The lyophilisate obtained from an aqueous extract has been proposed as a drug called tiliaflan, which has anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory and performance-enhancing properties. According to preliminary clinical data, "tiliaflan" (in the form of granules) has a beneficial effect on the mechanism of neurohumoral regulation of the fundic glands, has a stimulating effect on repair processes when tested as an antiulcer agent.
Linden flat-leaved (T. plalyphyllos Scop.) Is also used in a variety of ways. A decoction of inflorescences - with sclerosis, diabetes mellitus, baths - with neuralgia, locally - with alopecia (baldness). Bark is an indicator of sulfur in the environment.
Felt linden (T. tomenlosa Moench) is used almost entirely. Kidneys - for cardiovascular diseases, vegetative-vascular dystonia, impotence, female diseases, depression, metabolic disorders, herpes. Flowers in the form of a decoction are recommended as an antispasmodic agent.
From bast shoes to furniture
Linden is also known for its excellent ornamental wood, which does not crack when dried. From it, in the old days, craftsmen forged seals instead of copper ones. Hence the expression, widespread in our time, appeared - "linden", deception. A bast was obtained from the bark, from which bast shoes were woven.
Linden wood is used for the production of pencils, plywood, furniture, beehives, turning and carvings. Bast (bast) is used on mats, matting, washcloths, weaving - bags, harnesses, ropes, bags.
The leaves were used to prepare a vitamin drink. The essential oil from flowers is used in perfumery. The inflorescences are used to flavor champagne wines. The seed oil is close in quality to the well-known Provencal oil.
The plant is a wonderful honey plant. A bee colony can collect up to 50 kg of honey from one tree during the flowering period. Linden is distinguished by its decorative qualities and is widely used in landscaping cities and parks. In addition, it is dust and gas resistant, and also cleans the air from lead compounds released with exhaust gases.
