Why are you picking those flowers?
By Joanie
@Freelanzer (10745)
Canada
July 18, 2017 5:56pm CST
We went for a walk yesterday and I noticed a woman picking flowers from one of the trees on the boulevard. Now I have always admired these tress and the beautiful light yellow bunches of flowers on them. They have a pyramid shape and the city has been planting lot of them along the boulevards.
I was curious as to why she was picking the flowers so I stopped and asked her and she told me it was for making teas. She said they were especially good during the winter months and helps with colds and so on. When I asked her the name of the tree she said she didn't know - that her English wasn't very good. I figured she didn't know the English word for the tree.
Anyway as we continued our walk I started to be aware of the fragrant smell in the air and realized it was coming from these trees. When we got home my husband looked it up online and said it was the Linden or Basswood tree and and that the flowers, nuts and leaves are all edible and has antioxidant properties.
I did some research myself and found it is used as a perfume, as a tea, the leaves in salads, and for colds, headaches and fevers among other things. Since these trees are plentiful in my area, I will start harvesting them for teas as I love herbal teas. Have you ever tried Linden tree tea? Have you discovered something interesting recently that you would like to share?
10 people like this
12 responses
@changjiangzhibin89 (16518)
• China
19 Jul 17
Linden tree is a good nectariferous plant whose flowers are rich in volatile oil such as farnesol that can relieve exterior syndrome by sweating.
2 people like this
@TiarasOceanView (70035)
• United States
18 Jul 17
I had never heard of this at all..interesting though.
Let us know how it tastes Freelanzer.
2 people like this
@KrauseHome (36448)
• United States
20 Jul 17
Quite interesting that there are trees like this that can be so good for you. The nice thing is for her, it was readily available.
1 person likes this
@Freelanzer (10745)
• Canada
25 Jul 17
There are hundreds of the trees lining the streets in the area I live but I guess not many know they are edible.
@celticeagle (158680)
• Boise, Idaho
19 Jul 17
I have heard of the Linden tree but never tried a tea made from it.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (158680)
• Boise, Idaho
19 Jul 17
@Freelanzer .....Hard to know which are good for teas.
@Freelanzer (10745)
• Canada
19 Jul 17
I heard of it but never knew what it looked like and certainly didn't know about the tea
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
26 Jul 17
I have never heard of these trees! Now I'm curious to know how good the tea tastes!
Since the city is planting the trees along the roadways, do they have any restrictions about picking leaves and flowers off of the trees?
1 person likes this
@Freelanzer (10745)
• Canada
26 Jul 17
No restrictions. As a matter of fact homeowners are required to take care of the grass and maintain the boulevards outside their property even though it is city property so since the trees are eon the boulevard there isn't a problem. We also have parks with lots of berries which are raided shamelessly one the mature. No problem there either.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118365)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jul 17
@Freelanzer That is very nice that they allow the citizens to do that. But it does make sense if you think about it, since they are asking you to maintain the right-of-ways near your property, so the trade off is that if you take care of it, you can reap the rewards!
1 person likes this
@Freelanzer (10745)
• Canada
25 Jul 17
So true, and perhaps there won't be that much starvation in the world if we knew more about alternative food sources.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (157485)
• United States
18 Jul 17
I have not tried it yet, but would be willing to. I want to harvest more wild growing plants for teas and for other healthy things.
1 person likes this
@prashu228 (37526)
• India
19 Jul 17
That sounds interesting. I never heard of this tree. I will do some research. Glad you found it.
1 person likes this
@Freelanzer (10745)
• Canada
19 Jul 17
Glad I did too. There are some interesting facts about the tree
1 person likes this
@xstitcher (30249)
• Petaluma, California
18 Jul 17
Oooh. That sounds neat. Recently I've learned about the hobby of Artist Trading Cards, which I have posted about. 
1 person likes this
@Freelanzer (10745)
• Canada
19 Jul 17
Yes I thought that as quite interesting. Reminds me of the days when I used to have penpals and exchange letters and pics.
@Tampa_girl7 (48890)
• United States
19 Jul 17
I've never heard of that type of tree before. That's pretty cool
1 person likes this
@Freelanzer (10745)
• Canada
25 Jul 17
It is nice to discover new food and nutrition sources.
1 person likes this
@Courtlynn (66921)
• United States
18 Jul 17
Learn something new everyday. Thats good to know.
1 person likes this
@Freelanzer (10745)
• Canada
19 Jul 17
There is something new to discover every day
1 person likes this
@Freelanzer (10745)
• Canada
18 Jul 17
It is so nice to find things that are healthy growing around you.
1 person likes this
