NEN Gallery

A large deciduous tree (up to 38m) that can live up to 100 years old. It is believed at one time to have been the dominant tree in English forests. This tree has a smooth bark, usually without swollen bosses. The grey-green leaves are only 3-6cm long, rounded with abrupt points. They are hairless below except for tufts of rusty brown hairs in vein axels. The flowers are held in loose clusters of 4-10 and do not droop. The fruits are smooth with pointed tips. It grows in woods and field edges with species such as Ash, Hawthorn, Field Maple, Birch, Oak and Wild Cherry. It produces a relatively soft white or yellow wood which is valuable as timber as it does not change dimensions or warp once seasoned. It flowers in July - later than the other Limes with the fruits ripening in September. Picture taken 30th June 2006 at Old Warden, Bedfordshire.