Men and trees have been telling stories since prehistoric times. The linden tree and its perfumed flowers, its bark for ropes, its wood for infusion, brings some nice pages to it. Medicinal, utilitarian, it was once linked to the protective forces of nature.
A familiar tree
Lime trees are part of our daily lives. Village squares, schoolyards, parks, lines of trees, we come across them everywhere. European species, the large-leaf lime tree, Tilia platyphyllos, and the small-leaf lime tree, Tilia cordata, have hybridized and the intermediate lime tree, Tilia vulgaris or intermedia, is found alongside its cousins. Trees of the revolution, they were planted in village squares in 1792, but already in the 16th century Sully recommended their use. Thus, many lime trees exceed four centuries. It is estimated that the oldest ones are around 1000 years old...
Close to human settlements, ruins too, a lime tree in the forest often announces an old farm, a lost hamlet, this tree has brought a lot to man, by its medicinal properties, its soft wood, its strong links.
Lime tree recipes
At the end of spring, for St. John's Day, the inflorescences of lime bloom. Then begins the harvest of the flowers, if possible without the bracts, for infusions with the sweetest possible scent. The linden tea has a solid reputation, established by its digestive and soothing virtues. Dried in a ventilated place, avoiding direct sunlight, the flowers can be kept in bags and can occasionally be used to flavour a salad. Fresh, put to macerate in the sun in water with sugar, lemon, vinegar, they will compose a pleasant sparkling drink, resembling the elderberry lemonade. In mid-summer, the unharvested flowers will give fruits with edible seeds. Roasted, they could be used as a coffee substitute.
The lime leaves were used during the last world war, dried and crushed they supplemented the flours coming to miss, with a contribution in proteins not negligible. Currently, young leaves are harvested to mix them with mixed salads, their acidic taste being more or less appreciated.
Medicinal properties
Used in tea at the end of meals for its digestive properties, for cases of influenza, the linden shows antispamodic, antisclerotic, diuretic and sudorific properties. It would also play a role in the fluidification of blood, in the light nervous disorders. The variability of the active substances would be notable according to the lime trees and their places of culture.
Any use of medicinal plants requires prudence, it is advisable for the lime tree, as for any other plant, to find some wise advice for any medicinal cure. Less known, the sapwood, peripheral wood under the bark, sees its use in progression. Good diuretic, it is a hepato-biliary and urinary drainer, used among others in arthritis, migraine states... The herbalists propose it in the form of chips to be used in decoction.
Uses of lime
The smell of the linden flower attracted perfumers very early on. They extracted farnesol from it, which is also present in orange and acacia essential oils. It allows to underline the odors of floral perfumes.
As for wood, lime is rather soft and light, it is not resistant to bad weather. Its main qualities, homogeneity, stability after drying, make it a wood appreciated by turners and sculptors. Clogs, shoe heels, pencils, piano keys, kitchen utensils, toys, boxes... The range of interior uses is wide.
The bark of lime, called lime, brings unexpected qualities, fibrous and resistant it was used for a long time in the manufacture of links and ropes known for their solidity. Russia and Scandinavia also used it for basketry, mats, fishing nets and sandals. These practices, now forgotten, are remembered when we find dead lime trees with decaying wood but with bark that has disintegrated into fibers that are still tenacious and resistant.
For the artist writer, designer, the lime charcoal will offer an unequalled fineness, also used for the powder, and therapeutic use.
Some stories...
Heart-shaped leaves, sweet smell, soothing virtues, soft shadow, reassuring presence... The lime tree evokes love, fidelity, benevolent welcome, but also dance and joy.
Spirits and sorcerers inhabit this beneficial tree with multiple properties, it is advisable to treat them with respect to work its wood or its bark.
The shade of the lime tree is a beautiful shade to install a bench, to taste an herbal tea, and to tell stories about plants, where ancient and contemporary ethnobotany meet.
