Flowering of lime trees beginning
Photos Arne Ader
Translation Liis
Lime flowers
Small-leaved lime Harilik pärn Tilia cordata
The last to flower of our indigenous trees is the small-leaved lime.
Lime trees are also called "linden trees", maybe a German influence. And of course not to be confused with the Citrus fruit lime.
In addition to the naturally growing small-leaved lime in Estonia, about ten foreign species are used as ornamental trees in cities. They all have round or broadly eggshaped (obovate) leaves, more or less heart shaped (cordate) and with saw-toothed (serrated) margins.
We can see the non-native species in cities flowering already. The small-leaved lime is only beginning. An oblong pale green bract resembling a wing is attached to the inflorescence stem, and the yellow-green or yellow-white flowers are gathered in a corymb – well visible in Arne’s photo
And now we can only wish for dusky, warm summer nights with a never-ending buzz of insects in the honey-scented tree crowns …
Forests with lime trees as dominant species only cover a few tens of hectares in Estonia. The best known is probably the Poruni primeval forest at the Narva River.
Under the lime trees
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