Tilia

Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. They are generally called lime in Britain and linden or basswood in North America. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America. Under the Cronquist classification system, this genus was placed in the family Tiliaceae, but genetic research by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group has resulted in the incorporation of this family into the Malvaceae.

Tilia species are large deciduous trees, reaching typically 20 to 40 metres (66 to 130 ft) tall, with oblique-cordate leaves 6 to 20 centimetres (2 to 8 in) across. The exact number of species is subject to considerable uncertainty, as many or most of the species will hybridise readily, both in the wild and in cultivation.