Tilia
Tilia cordata, Tilia platyphyllos and other limes in Europe: distribution, habitat, usage and threats
E. Eaton, G. Caudullo, D. de Rigo
Tilia cordata Mill., known as small-leaved lime, and Tilia platyphyllos Scop., known as large-leaved lime, are very similartrees, both native to Europe and preferring warmer climates. Growing into large trees, they occur from southern Finland
to southern Italy, and from the Caucasus to north-west Spain and Wales. Limes prefer lowlands to higher elevations, andhave been a component of European woodlands for six millennia. Coppicing has been a common form of management
for limes, as they produce long straight poles and can be very long-lived (>2 000 years) in this form. Lime wood is muchvalued for carving, as it is soft and resistant to splitting.
Small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata Mill.) and large-leaved lime
(Tilia platyphyllos Scop.) are large-sized deciduous broad-leaved
trees. They are long-lived, able to survive more than 1 000 years
even if coppiced1, 2 . T. cordata is the more common species inEurope, whilst T. platyphyllos extends farther south. Both species
can reach 30-40 m in height with straight trunks up to around1 m in diameter which are largely free of suckers and epicormic
growth, unlike their hybrid Tilia x europaea (common lime). Theircrowns tend to be quite neat and narrow, becoming untidier as
they age, although the high crown can allow a branch-free boleof 10-15 m. Despite their common names, the leaves of these
two species are very similar: both are often around 9 cm long,with T. platyphyllos up to 15 cm; pointed tips to the leaves arecommon to both, as are a cordate base, which is more irregularin form in T. platyphyllos, a finely-toothed leaf margin, and a darkgreen shiny upper surface with the underside paler3 . T. cordata
has hairs in the vein axils on the lower surface of its leaves,
whereas T. platyphyllos is only sometimes hairy on its underside.
Both species flower profusely in June and July. The white orpale flowers, which are insect-pollinated, are fragrant and occur
in clusters of 4 to 5. Seeds are first produced around 30 to 40years of age, and every 2-3 years trees produce a reasonablecrop of seeds. The seeds of T. cordata are smaller than those of T.
platyphyllos: there are 7500 T. platyphyllos seeds per kilogram,compared to 29000 T. cordata seeds per kilogram4 .

16 m in diameter and may be up to 2 000 years old, although
precise dating is difficult as the heartwood may have rottedaway long ago13 . Whilst neither T. cordata nor T. platyphyllos
is as susceptible to aphid infestation as Tilia x europaea, it hasbeen said that the soils underneath lime trees may receive up to1 kg per square metre of sugars from honeydew. This nutrient
input is thought to stimulate nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soils,
enriching them with nitrogen and phosphorus14 .

Importance and Usage
Frequency< 25%
25% - 50%
50% - 75%
> 75%
Chorology
NativeBoth the main lime species in Europe produce a wood that islight in colour and soft enough to carve, but resistant to splitting4 .
Some of the earliest uses of lime wood includes bows and shields,
as well as “bast”, which is a tough fibrous material derived fromthe inner bark and used for rope and clothing. Coppicing of Tilia
has long been practiced, as the trees are capable of producing
long, straight poles4 . As the wood of both T. cordata and T.
platyphyllos can be worked easily, it has been a highly favoured
material for carving since the Middle Ages, as well as for musicalinstruments, clogs, beehives, and cuckoo clocks15, 16 . Honey fromthe flowers of lime trees is also much valued, and a tea madefrom the flowers (Tilleul) has long been thought to have antiinflammatory properties17. One of the common uses of lime trees
has been as a street tree in much of Europe, notably along Unter
den Linden in the centre of historic Berlin18 .

Map 1-A: Plot distribution and simplified chorology map for Tilia cordata.
Frequency of Tilia cordata occurrences within the field observations asreported by the National Forest Inventories. The chorology of the native
spatial range for T. cordata is derived after EUFORGEN and Afonin et al.26, 27.

and the Alps lime stands and forests were much more abundant
before the expansion and intensification of agriculture 7 0005 000 years ago10 . T. cordata can grow on calcareous soils, podzols,
and brown earths, and can compete with oaks on stagno-gley
soils, whilst T. platyphyllos is more usually found on rendzinas
formed from limestone or basic igneous rocks. If the meanannual precipitation is greater than 850 mm, T. cordata can also
move onto more lime-rich soils4 , but it is quite drought tolerant11 .
Neither species is much affected by spring nor autumn frosts,
as flushing is relatively late and buds set early11 . However, bothspecies require some warmth, being limited in the north of theirranges by temperature. This is particularly true for the productionof fertile seed, as in colder regions (such as northern Britain) it isoften too cold for the pollen tube to grow following pollination12 .
As such, opportunities for limes to spread in such areas only occur
following particularly warm summers. Given its relative droughttolerance and its preference for warmer temperatures, the rangeof this species may increase in a warming climate11 . T. cordataand T. platyphyllos are both tolerant of shade and tend to grow inclose proximity to other species in dense woodlands. Both species
show substantial regenerative abilities and have been grown ascoppice for millennia. Individual coppice stools may form rings

Isolated small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata) in Leskova Dolina (South Slovenia).
(Copyright Stefano Zerauschek, www.flickr.com: AP)

Threats and Diseases
T. cordata and T. platyphyllos are generally quite disease
resistant. Bleeding stem cankers caused by Phytophthora
cactorum and Phytophthora citricola have been recorded onlimes. T. cordata is sensitive to Phytophthora plurivora19, 20 .
Aphids can be a problem, but to a much lesser extent with T.
cordata and T. platyphyllos than with common lime: in severe
infestations the honeydew dripping onto lower leaves allows sooty
moulds to grow, blocking light from reaching the leaf surface. Incommon with several woody plants, limes are susceptible to beattacked by the gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) and by the nun
moth (Lymantria monacha)21-24 . In particular, T. cordata is highly

Inflorescences of white-yellowish fragrant flowers arranged in clusters of 4-5.
(Copyright Giovanni Caudullo: CC-BY)

Distribution
T. cordata and T. platyphyllos are native to much of Europe,with their ranges extending from southern Finland to southern
Italy and the Caucasus. T. cordata is the more abundant of thetwo species and its core region is central and eastern Europe. It
can be found as far north as southern Norway and Finland and atelevations up to 1 500 m in the central Alps5 . T. platyphyllos hasa smaller range, reaching slightly farther south but only reachingsouthern Sweden at its northern extent and having a much more
patchy occurrence in northern central Europe. Neither species
is present in the far west of Europe, with the western extent inNorth-West Spain and Wales6 . In Europe, two other species oflime occur naturally: the silver lime (Tilia tomentosa Moench.)
and the Caucasian lime (Tilia dasystyla Stev.) with two noticeable
subspecies caucasica and dasystyla. T. tomentosa especiallyoccurs in the Balkans and Hungary, while T. dasystyla is peculiar
to the regions around the Black Sea5, 7, 8 .

Habitat and Ecology
Both T. cordata and T. platyphyllos are trees of lowlands andthe lower slopes of hills rather than higher elevations, and havebeen present in European woods for more than 10 000 years9 .
In Britain, limes are generally associated with oak and beech
woodlands, and their presence is often taken as an indicator or
ancient woodland (i.e. since before 1600 CE)4 . In Central Europe

184 European Atlas of Forest Tree Species | Tree species

Large-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos) on karst plateau near Lokev
village (Sežana, Slovenia). (Copyright Stefano Zerauschek, www.flickr.com: AP)

Pendulous fruits of small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata).
(Copyright AnRo0002, commons.wikimedia.org: CC0)

TiliaFrequency< 25%25% - 50%
50% - 75%
> 75%
Chorology

vulnerable to the gypsy moth and T. platyphyllos is susceptible
to the nun moth. Invertebrates to which limes play host include
Stigmella tiliae, a leaf-miner; the lime hawk-moth, Mimas tiliae;
and Eriophyes tiliae, the lime nail gall16 . Natural regeneration oflimes rarely persists long, as it is very palatable to small browsing
mammals, such as bank voles4 . Mature trees may have their bark
stripped by browsing cattle25 .

Red galls on lime leaves caused by the mite Eriophyes tiliae.

NativeMap 1-C: Plot distribution and simplified chorology map for Tilia tomentosa .
Frequency of Tilia tomentosa occurrences within the field observations asreported by the National Forest Inventories. The chorology of the native
spatial range for T. tomentosa is derived after Meusel and Jäger29 .

(Copyright Free Photos, www.flickr.com: CC-BY)

References

Leaves of European lime are very similar, with toothed margin,
cordate base and pointed tips.

Trunk of small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata), which generally reaches
lower heights than large-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos).

(Copyright Graham Calow, www.naturespot.ork.uk: AP)(Copyright AnRo0002, commons.wikimedia.org: CC0)

Frequency< 25%
25% - 50%
50% - 75%
> 75%
Chorology
NativeMap 1-B: Plot distribution and simplified chorology map for Tilia platyphyllos.
Frequency of Tilia platyphyllos occurrences within the field observations
as reported by the National Forest Inventories. The chorology of the native
spatial range for T. platyphyllos is derived after EUFORGEN28 .

(Copyright Stefano Zerauschek, www.flickr.com: AP)

Observed presences in Europe

Autoecology diagrams based on harmonised fieldobservations from forest plots for the whole genus Tilia.

Sum of precipitation of the driest month (mm)Annual precipitation (mm)Annual average temperature (°C)[16] A. Roloff, H. Weisgerber, U. M. Lang,
B. Stimm, Bäume Mitteleuropas: Von Aspe
bis Zirbelkiefer. Mit den Porträts aller
Bäume des Jahres von 1989 bis 2010.
(Wiley-VCH, 2010).
[17] M. Blumenthal, American BotanicalCouncil, Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel
und Medizinprodukte, Therapeutic Guide toHerbal Medicines, The Complete German
Commission E monographs (AmericanBotanical Council, 1998).
[18] M. Forrest, C. Konijnendijk, Urban Forests
and Trees, C. Konijnendijk, K. Nilsson,T. Randrup, J. Schipperijn, eds. (SpringerBerlin Heidelberg, 2005), pp. 23–48.
[19] M. Mrazkova, et al., Plant Disease 94, 272(2010).
[20] M. Mrázková, et al., Plant Protection
Science 49, 155 (2013).
[21] D. de Rigo, et al., Scientific Topics Focus 2,
mri10a15+ (2016).
[22] CABI, Lymantria dispar (gypsy moth)(2015). Invasive Species Compendium.
http://www.cabi.org[23] CABI, Lymantria monacha (nun moth)(2015). Invasive Species Compendium.
http://www.cabi.org[24] I. Skrzecz, Folia Forestalia Polonica 42,41 (2000).
[25] C. D. Pigott, J. P. Huntley, New Phytologist
84, 145 (1980).
[26] EUFORGEN, Distribution map of lime (Tiliacordata) (2008). www.euforgen.org.
[27] A. N. Afonin, S. L. Greene, N. I. Dzyubenko,
A. N. Frolov, eds., Interactive Agricultural
Ecological Atlas of Russia and Neighboring
Countries: Economic Plants and their
Diseases, Pests and Weeds [Online] (2008).
http://www.agroatlas.ru.
[28] EUFORGEN, Distribution map of lime (Tiliaplatyphyllos) (2008). www.euforgen.org.
[29] H. Meusel, E. Jäger, eds., Vergleichende
Chorologie der Zentraleuropäischen Flora- Band I, II, III (Gustav Fischer Verlag,Jena, 1998).

Bark of small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata) forming longitudinal fissuresat the base of the trunk.

Average temperature of the coldest month (°C)

Field data in Europe (including absences)[1] I. Colin Prentice, H. Helmisaari, Forest
Ecology and Management 42, 79 (1991).
[2] J. E. Milner, The tree book : theindispensable guide to tree facts, craftsand lore (Collins & Brown, 1992).
[3] A. F. Mitchell, P. Dahlstrom, E. Sunesen,
C. Darter, A field guide to the trees ofBritain and northern Europe (Collins,1974).
[4] P. S. Savill, The silviculture of trees used inBritish forestry (CABI, 2013).
[5] J. Jensen, S. Canger, Noble Hardwoods
Network: Report of the Third Meeting, 1316 June 1998, Sagadi, Estonia, J. Turok,et al., eds. (Bioversity International, 1998),
pp. 28–38.
[6] J. Svejgaard Jensen, EUFORGEN Technicalguidelines for genetic conservation anduse for Lime (Tilia spp.) (2003).
[7] K. Radoglou, D. Dobrowolska, G. Spyroglou,
V. N. Nicolescu, Die Bodenkultur 60, 9(2009).
[8] C. D. Pigott, B. Francis, Edinburgh Journalof Botany 56, 161 (1999).
[9] G. Lang, Quartäre Vegetationsgeschichte
Europas: Methoden und Ergebnisse (G.
Fisher, Jena, 1994).
[10] W. Tinner, B. Ammann, Global Change andMountain Regions, U. Huber, H. Bugmann,M. Reasoner, eds. (Springer Netherlands,2005), vol. 23 of Advances in Global
Change Research, pp. 133–143.
[11] G. E. Hemery, et al., Forestry 83, 65(2010).
[12] C. D. Pigott, Journal of Ecology 79, 1147
(1991).
[13] C. D. Pigott, New Phytologist 112, 117(1989).
[14] D. J. Mabberley, The Plant-book: A Portable
Dictionary of the Vascular Plants Second
Edition (Cambridge University Press,1997).
[15] A. Praciak, et al., The CABI encyclopedia offorest trees (CABI, Oxfordshire, UK, 2013).

Potential spring-summer solar irradiation (kWh m-2)

Hairs in the vein axils on the leaf lower face of small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata).
(Copyright David Nicholls, www.naturespot.ork.uk: AP)

Seasonal variation of monthly precipitation (dimensionless)This is an extended summary of the chapter. The full version ofthis chapter (revised and peer-reviewed) will be published online athttps://w3id.org/mtv/FISE-Comm/v01/e010ec5. The purpose of thissummary is to provide an accessible dissemination of the related
main topics.
This QR code points to the full online version, where the most
updated content may be freely accessed.
Please, cite as:
Eaton, E., Caudullo, G., de Rigo, D., 2016. Tilia cordata, Tilia
platyphyllos and other limes in Europe: distribution, habitat,
usage and threats. In: San-Miguel-Ayanz, J., de Rigo, D., Caudullo,G., Houston Durrant, T., Mauri, A. (Eds.), European Atlas of Forest Tree
Species. Publ. Off. EU, Luxembourg, pp. e010ec5+

Tree species | European Atlas of Forest Tree Species

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