Common lime is a large deciduous tree and can grow to heights of up 45m making it the tallest broad-leaved tree in the UK. Despite the name containing the word lime it has nothing to do with the citrust fruit lime. Outside of the UK they are referred to as Linden trees and it is thought that this over time became partially corrupted to the word Lime. The old english name for these trees were called Lind. The Common lime is thought to be a natural cross between the Small-leaved Lime and the Large-leaved Lime tree. Like most hybrid trees the Common Lime typically possess characteristics from both parent trees which can sometimes make it tricky to get a solid identification. There is no set date to when the first Common lime trees started popping up across the UK.  During the 18th century many Lime trees were imported from the Netherlands to grace the gardens of stately homes and manors so potentially this helped to create the natural hybrid of Common lime.

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As a tree it grows vigorously and can happily live for 500 years. It is one of the few trees that responds well to pollarding and other heavy tree methods of reducing the size of the tree. Heavily pollarded trees tend send out hundreds of recovery suckers so the trees like quite bushy in parts. It has a deep rooting system which extends further than it's crown which makes it a poor choice as a street tree where there are various underground services, drains and so on. This is why most Common lime trees in urban areas are heavily pollarded to try and manage them as small trees. Ideally other smaller sized types of Lime tree such as the Small-leaved lime or Silver-leaved lime tree are better suited as street trees. Common lime is prone to aphid attack which helps attract all sorts of natural predators. Aphid's in large numbers excrete a sticky substance called honeydew which on the tree aren't really a problem but if you have a car parked underneath it will be covered in this sticky residue.

On mature trees the bark is pale grey-brown and irregularly ridged. Quite often there will be random suckers

The twigs are a little zig-zag in shape and the buds are usually a deep red colour

The bark of mature Common lime trees is a pale grey-brown colour and has irregularly ridges. They are deeper at the base of the tree and quite often accompanied by a cluster of suckers. Some Common lime trees have no suckers at the base and some are covered in them so suckering at the base is not a reliable method of identiciation. Also, the leaves of the suckers are very different than that of the leaves furter up the tree which can lead to further mis-identification. Quite often the suckering leaves are double the size of the true leaves of the tree and this is applicable to all types of Lime trees that I have come across. The branches can be dense in areas as they often have clusters across the tree - especially areas of damage. The twigs are slighlty zig zag apperance and the buds resemeble small red boxing gloves. The colour of the buds is typically a deep red but this only applies to Spring, Autumn and Winter. In the Summer the buds are bright green.

Common lime is a deciduous tree and can reach heights of up to 45m. It is the tallest non native deciduous ​tree in the UK

The flowers are white-yellow with five petals and hang in clusters of 4 - 10 typically. The typically flower in July

During late June to July the tree is in flower and really stands out. It is the smell of the tree that you are more likely to notice than the sight of the flowers. The sweet nectar from the thousands of flowers can be smelt from a fair distance which is why Common Lime is also known as the Bee Tree as they adore the flowers. The flowers are quite small and hang in clusters of 4 to 10 and are accompanied by a leafy yellow-green subtending bract. The flowers have white petals with yellow male parts (anthers) and the female parts  (stigma and ovary) are white. They are pollinated mainly by bees and on a sunny day during floweing the noise from the hundreds of bees is fantastic. The flowers mature into small round / oval shaped drupe with a pointed tip. They start off a dull green and mature into a light brown colour and are dispersed by the wind. The fruit of the tree is referred to as nutlets and the structure that holds the flowers / fruit is called a cyme.

The leaves are heart shaped but usually not even on both sides. They are 6 - 10cm in length and are virtually hairless

The fruit is a small and round-oval in shape with a pointed tip. They are slighly ribbed upon closer examination

OTHER USEFUL LINKS

• First Nature
• RHS​
• Wikipedia

QUICK FACTS

• ​Common lime is a large deciduous tree and can grow to heights of up 45m
• ​ It the tallest broad-leaved tree in the UK
• Other common names are Linden, Basswood, Bast Tree and Spoonwood
• ​Despite the name containing the word lime it has nothing to do with the citrust fruit lime
• ​The old english name for these trees were called Lind
• ​Outside of the UK they are often referred to as Linden trees
• ​The Common lime is thought to be a natural cross between the Small-leaved Lime and the Large-leaved Lime tree
• Although it is a hybrid tree it is considered a native tree species of the UK
• It can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure
• During the 18th century many Lime trees were imported from the Netherlands to grace the gardens of stately homes
• As a tree it grows vigorously and can happily live for 500 years
•  It is one of the few trees that responds well to pollarding and other heavy tree methods of reducing the size of the tree
• It has a deep rooting system which extends further than it's crown which makes it a poor choice as a street tree
• Common lime is prone to aphid attack which helps attract all sorts of natural predators
• ​ Aphid's in large numbers excrete a sticky substance called honeydew
• ​The bark of mature Common lime trees is a pale grey-brown colour and has irregularly ridges
• The stringy inner bark is called bass or bast which has been used to make mats, ropes, and baskets
• It is often used for carvings and the sounding boards for pianos, and for charcoal used by artists
• The wood is white, smooth and close-grained
• It is a light wood and doesn't become worm-eaten
• Common Lime has been coppiced and used as fuel, hop-poles, bean-sticks and bowls
• They are deeper at the base of the tree and quite often accompanied by a cluster of suckers
• ​Some Common lime trees have no suckers at the base and some are covered in them so suckering at the base is not a reliable method of identiciation
• ​​ The leaves of the suckers are very different than that of the leaves furter up the tree which can lead to further mis-identification
• The buds are alternately arranged on the twigs
• The twigs are slighlty zig zag apperance and the buds resemeble small red boxing gloves
• ​The colour of the buds is typically a deep red but this only applies to Spring, Autumn and Winter. In the Summer the buds are green
• ​​During late June to July the tree is in flower and really stands out
• The sweet nectar from the thousands of flowers can be smelt from a fair distance which is why Common Lime is also known as the Bee Tree as they adore the flowers.
• The flowers are insect pollinated - mainly by bees
• ​The flowers are quite small and hang in clusters of 4 to 10 and are accompanied by a leafy yellow-green subtending bract
• ​The flowers have white petals with yellow male parts (anthers) and the female parts  (stigma and ovary) are white
• ​​The flowers mature into small round / oval shaped drupe with a pointed tip
• They start off a dull green and mature into a light brown colour and are dispersed by the wind
• ​The fruit of the tree is referred to as nutlets and the structure that holds the flowers / fruit is called a cyme
• The leaves are heart shaped but usually not even on both sides. They are 6 - 10cm in length and are virtually hairless
• The leaves have  been used as fodder for livestock and many trees on estates show a distinct grazing line
• On the underside of the leaves between the leaf veins are small clusters of tiny white hairs (not always!)
• The underside of the leaves is a lighter green than that the surface
• The leaves often have small blisters caused by aphids and other sap-sucking insects
• Lime nail gall (Eriophyes tiliae) is a small mite that causes the upright red bugle like structures on the surface of the leaves
• When trying to ID a Common Lime tree never rely on the base suckers / leaves. 
• The leaves tend to have more deeply cut serrated edges compared to other types of Lime tree
• The bracts of Common Lime always droop down unlike that of the Small-leaved lime tree
• The mature fruit (nutlets) only are feintly ribbed unlike that of the Large-leaved linden tree
• It been used as a home remedy for colds, flu, coughs, epilepsy and indigestion
• The flowers have been used to make a herbal tea which was popular in World War 2
• Dried Lime leaves have been ground into flour because of its exceptional nutritional properties, and contain protein
• During the French Revolution, more than 60,000 Lime trees were planted in all the districts of France
• In the Middle Ages Lime trees were planted near hospitals because they made the air healthier and calmer
• The Celts and the Germans claimed that truth emerged under the shade of a Lime tree
• In Eastern countries it sometimes called the tree of justice

PLEASE LEAF ME ANY FEEDBACK / COMMENTS

If there is anything out of place or wrong please contact me. Equally if there is anything you wish to add please let me know. The more information we have about Common lime the better. Many thanks!

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