The summer lime tree (Tilia platyphyllos), also lime tree mentioned, is a kind of deciduous tree from the kind of the lime trees (Tilia) in the family of the (Malvaceae).

Spreading

The summer lime tree is in central and south Europe domestic, but relatively rarely wild occurring. It is considered as a tree to middle mountain situations and can become high over 30 meters. In develops it was open a powerful crown, is however sensitive to frost and It is used frequently as avenue or Parkbaum.

Description

The summer lime tree is a tree, which reaches stature heights of up to 31 meters and master diameters of up to 1.8 meters. It has a dark grey and fine-cracked crust. The crown of tree is high with rather steeply rising branches. As a young tree the summer lime tree has usually one more hemispheric crown.

The young would drive out are reddish-green and clearly behaart. The egg-shaped buds are dark red. The are suddenly long intensified eirund and; they are at the inclined basis. The page margin is sharply kerbig sawed. The sheets are dark green above and behaart, down brighter and particularly on the nerves closely behaart. The size of the sheets is very variable with approximately 6 to 15 cm (length such as width). The sheet sits at behaarten about 2 to 5 cm long a handle.

The summer lime tree is in Central Europe the kind of lime tree flowering earliest. The blooms hang in Trugdolden usually to 3 to 4 (sometimes to 6). The blooms are about 12 mm largely with a whitish-green high sheet. The spherical fruit has five ribs, is behaart close and becomes about 8 to 10 mm largely.

Lime trees become frequently very old, which many tree monuments show in Germany. The vernacular stated that lime trees come "„three hundred years, three hundred years and three hundred years it offense. "“Even age-old, hollow lime trees develop sometimes still another amazing The secret of their longevity are new interior roots, which grow from the greisen trunk toward soil, embody themselves there and form a young crown, if the old tree dies. The lime tree tapers itself quasi from the inside out.

Use

The summer lime tree is forstlich cultivated in Central Europe. Also as Parkbaum she is frequently planted. The wood of the summer lime tree is regarded to the winter lime tree as inferior as that.

Pflanzenheilkunde

The herb-well-informed Hieronymus support recommends the lime tree coal as means against bleedings and "“burned the water"” from lime tree blooms against drop craze and belly pain.

Only in 17. Century one obviously discovered the weld-rubbing effect of the lime tree bloom tea, which is still used as cure.

Cultural meaning

The village lime tree, the dance lime tree

In many regions of Germany the center of the village was once with summer lime trees. It was telling place, meeting place, here court was held. Still cure prince August of Saxonia signed his regulations with "“given under the lime tree"”. Also the expression subtly deduces itself from the lime tree - sub tilia. Under the lime trees no hard judgements were spoken, where it concerned lives and death, but rather easy cases were treated here.

However also the celebrations of the village under the lime tree took place. At some places for it even a dance soil was highly above developed between the branches of the lime tree. Getting parapet walls, which were closed with led lime tree impulses, formed the lateral verge of the "“lime tree rooms"”. Merry driving took place then in the midst of the tree. Also the musi edges played there above up. Received still the dance lime tree of Limmersdorf is with Bayreuth. Other former dance lime trees are of Schenklengsfeld in close proximity to bath the Hersfeld or from Effeltrich with Forchheim.

A further characteristic are the so-called Apostellinden, with which twelve branches of a lime tree were pulled artificially into the width and which are supported branches with calibration or stone columns, unloading far. Thus an enormous lime tree summerhouse develops. The most well-known Apostellinde rises up in Gehrden with being castle and can over an iron spiral stair erklommen to become. A further decorates the local center in Effeltrich, where the low, far unloading crown was carried by double-row scaffolding with 24 supports.

The lime tree in the symbolism

The lime tree is the symbol of conjugal love, the quality, hospitality and modesty. This symbolism is to decrease/go back on Ovids narration of Philemon and Baucis, the old married couple, the nothing more desired than dying itself together, so that none of them would have to experience the death of the other one. Zeus met this desire, when death came to them, to them transformed it the two into trees; Philemon into an oak and Baucis into a lime tree.

The lime tree in the literature

Bettina Brentano wrote once at its brother Clemens:

The lime trees flower, to Clemente, and the evening wind vibrates itself in their branches. Who am I that their me all your smell zuweht, it lime Oh, the lime trees, you say go so lonely between our trunks and umfassst our trunks, as if we would be humans, there speak we you on with unserm smell.

Breed forms

• "“Aurea"”: The crust of the Jahrestriebe is freshly lightgreen, whereby this form works in the winter very remarkably. To see sometimes in parks.
• "“Laciniata"”: This form becomes high up to approximately 16 meters. The sheets are smaller than with the type (about 5 to 6 cm long). The Blattspreite are deeply cut and often rippled/crinkled. Occasionally in parks planted.

Other

The name lime tree "“is somewhat unfortunate, because the Dutch lime tree has on the average substantially larger sheets.

Literature

• Doris Laudert; Myth tree history - customs - 40 BLV Munich 2003
• Robert Bannan, the lime tree, Tilia Cordata publishing house Jost Marcus 1997

Related links

• The lime tree

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