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silver linden Tiliaceae Tilia petiolaris DC. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: TIPE
Leaf: Alternate, simple, serrated, heart-shaped, inequilateral, 2 to 5 inches long, green above, silvery pubescent below.
Flower: Fragrant, pale yellow, 7 to 10 flowers per hanging cluster, leafy wing above flowers, appearing in late spring to early summer.
Fruit: Egg-shaped nutlet, 3/8 inch long, gray fuzzy, leafy wing persistent.
Twig: Moderately stout, zigzag, green or red, softly pubescent, buds finely pubescent, bulge to one side.
Bark: Young bark smooth, light gray, becoming furrowed with age.
Form: A small to medium sized tree reaching up to 70 feet in height, pyramidal to rounded crown.
Looks like: American basswood - littleleaf linden

silver linden leaf image
silver linden flower image
silver linden fruit image
silver linden twig image
silver linden bark image
silver linden form image
silver linden map image

Additional Range Information: Tilia petiolaris is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Fall Color
External Links: USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information - USDAFS Forest Products Lab
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information