Effect:
anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, pain relieving, calming, diuretic
Areas of application:
Skin treatments, burns, sunburns, boils, skin irritations, as a sedative, as an anti-seizure agent, pain reliever, nerve pain, anxiety, insomnia, seizures, lowers high blood pressure, helps lower cholesterol, regulates cardiac arrhythmias, coughs, laryngitis, throat irritation, eye infections, conjunctivitis , stomach problems, heartburn, dysentery
Plant parts used:
Inner bark, leaves, flowers
Collection time:
May to autumn
To find:
North America in forests and along the banks of rivers and lakes at altitudes of 10 to 800 meters.
Ingredients:
Mucus, tannins, flavonoids, essential oil, farnesol, wax
Miscellaneous:
Basswood is very similar to the German linden tree. It is a deciduous tree that can reach a height of 18 to 30 m. It has a trunk diameter of 90 to 180 cm when fully grown. It also has gray bark with shallow furrows. The leaves are deciduous, alternate and irregularly heart-shaped. The leaves are 10 to 15 cm long, 7.5 cm wide, thick and slightly leathery, with sharply serrated edges. They are usually smooth and hairless on both sides, but occasionally have soft downy hairs on the underside. Yellowish-white, fragrant flowers grow in pendulous clusters of 5 to 20 and are about 1/2 inch wide. They bloom for about 2 weeks from May to June. The fruits are small, dry, round nuts that ripen in autumn, with each fruit containing a seed.