Linden Love
with a Linden in Vác, Hungary
There are many herbs who automatically bring summer to mind. Saint John's Wort's strong association with the Summer Solstice makes them an obvious example of the solar guild. Here in Southern Appalachia, we also harvest Yarrow and Lavender during this time of year. And of course Rose blooms and blooms from May into June. This year, I came to associate a new herb with the longest days of the year, Linden, Tilia spp.
Members of the genus Tilia are deciduous trees who grow quite large over time. There are several species of Linden, also called Basswood, native to Turtle Island, including Tilia americana and Tilia caroliniana. Linden is also frequently planted in landscaping across the continent. These tend to be cultivars of one of the Eurasian species, Tilia cordata.
Linden is a somewhat unusual herbal remedy in that it is a relaxing aromatic nervine that is ALSO demulcent. Many of our relaxing aromatic nervines are dry or even drying. This is why having a moistening aromatic nervine in our apothecaries is such a gift! Linden has an affinity for the heart and cardiovascular system as well as the nervous system. This means you can call on Linden's moistening quality to balance formulas crafted to support both systems.
While Linden has become an invaluable part of my apothecary, what I really want to encourage you to do is to go out and find some Linden trees to spend time with. In temperate regions, you can find them in landscaping around businesses, government buildings, banks, and on college campuses. When they are covered in blooms, you can hear the bees and other pollinators visiting these trees from down the street. And the smell! The smell is the most enchanting mood-lifting scent. Linden flowers smell like honey. No wonder bees love them so much! Upon closer study, a bit of cucumber scent emerges. Summer scents for summer days.
You can dry the flowers and bracts for tea, or make a tincture or glycerite with them. I love to infuse honey with Linden flowers as well. In many parts of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, communities planted Linden trees around their town squares, where they also met to talk and make decisions. The lore holds that these trees help keep people cool and calm during heated conversations. This makes sense, and also points to the role of Linden as a perfect medicine for countering the extremes of summer. When we are hot and dry and running a bit ragged from all the activity, we need a soothing, moistening, cooling, calming remedy. Linden provides that perfect balm for summer.
