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Lime - Tilia platyphyllos x cordata = T. x europaea
Large tree to 30 metres, with a wide spreading crown. Large tree often have bushy basal epicormic growth. Buds shiny red-brown with one large and one small scale like a finger and thumb. Leaves almost rounded with a heart shaped base, sharply toothed, 6 to 10 cm long and 6 to 10 cm wide. Usually has whitish hair tufts in the underside vein axils, but this character isn't completely reliable.
Flowers 8 to 10 mm, yellowish-white and fragrant 4, beneath a strap like bract. Flower cymes pendent.
Other limes, especially Small-leaved lime, which is now often planted.
The pendent flower-cymes are the best way to distinguish it from Small-leaved Lime. Other species with pendent cymes may be planted, but have different characteristics of fruit and leaves.
Widely planted along roadsides and in avenues, also in plantations, parks, large gardens, churchyards and cemeteries.
June and July.
Deciduous.
Quite common throughout most of Britain except the extreme North.
Very common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 297 of the 617 tetrads.
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
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Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
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Species profile
- Common names
- Lime, Common Lime
- Species group:
- Trees, Shrubs & Climbers
- Kingdom:
- Plantae
- Order:
- Malvales
- Family:
- Malvaceae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 99
- First record:
- 27/05/2000 (MBNHS;Steve Woodward)
- Last record:
- 22/08/2023 (Strong, Kate)
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% of records within its species group
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