Árbol tilo

SMALL LEAVED LIME

Tilia spp.

Tileiro (Galician) | Tília-de-folhas-pequenhas, Tília-de-folhas-grandes (Portuguese) | Tilo (Spanish) | Tilleul (French)


Tilia is the Latin name of the tree known to the Romans as tilo. Native to temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Comprising of about thirty species, distributed throughout Asia, Europe and eastern North America.

There are also numerous, spontaneous and artificial hybrids, a factor that complicates the drawing up of precise taxonomy about the species.

On the Iberian Peninsula, it is naturally limited to the northern border, inhabiting zones from the Picos de Europa, Basque Country and Navarra up to the easternmost part of the Pyrenees. It is commonly used as an ornamental plant in parks, gardens and public spaces.

A deciduous tree with a voluminous growth able to live up to 900 years, reaching between 20 and 40 m in height and with a straight trunk reaching up to one metre in diameter.

The leaves have a strong aroma, are heart-shaped, with a serrated edge, up to 20 cm wide, dark green in colour on the upper edge and a light silvery green on the reverse.

The flowers of this tree are also strongly scented, taking the shape of small yellow clusters accompanied by a modified leaf or tongue-shaped elongated bract and frequently visited by bees for pollen.

Since ancient times, the calming, antispasmodic and sedative properties of Tila have been recognised. To prepare it, the mature flowers with the modified leaf or bract are gathered in the summer, they are left to dry and then chopped and ready to drink as a herbal infusion. Its harvesting is slow and laborious, therefore the branches are usually cut every 6 to 7 years to extract the flowers. Taking them directly off the tree is not profitable unless it is for personal use.

The Arenal lime tree

Planted in 1809 in a nursery of Abando by the agronomist-engineer Santiago Brouard, the tree was later moved to the front of the San Nicolas church in 1816. It became a symbol for the people of Bilbao, who ended up calling it ´El abuelo´ meaning the grandfather. Even the writer and philosopher Miguel Unamuno, born in Bilbao, was inspired enough by the tree to write some verses that he later gave to his girlfriend. Other writers, Ramiro de Maeztu and Jose Ortega y Gasset later recited authentic love poems in the shade of the lime tree. In 1894, Zuloaga painted it on one of the panels dedicated to the Kurding Club.
K-Toño Frade recalled that the tree´s unrivalled presence was felt during ´processions, bombardments, concerts and grand festivities on the flowering Arenal, carnival troupes, floods, triumphant return of Athletic, strikes, demonstrations of joy and protest´.
On the first of April 1948, a strong gale blew the tree down, its trunk snapping just a metre and a half above the ground. It is said that the crown fell on the steps of San Nicolas church, as a parting gesture as a citizen of Bilbao.

(El Correo newspaper. Sunday 28th of de October 2007).

SMALL LEAVED LIME characteristics

Discover the different parts of the tree are like

Tronco del Tilo

Trunk

Hoja del tilo

Leaf

Flor del tilo

Flower

Fruto del tilo

Fruit

SMALL LEAVED LIME flowering

  • JAN
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  • APR
  • MAY
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  • AUG
  • SEP
  • OCT
  • NOV
  • DEC