Tilia americana and related Tilia spp.
Linden flowers are small, cream-colored, and distinctly honey-scented. The flowers and their pale leaflike bracts are the part usually gathered for infusions, with a sweet flavor that suggests honey even without added sugar.1
American linden, or basswood (Tilia americana), is native in every New England state. The European name “lime tree” has nothing to do with citrus limes; it is another old name for trees in Tilia.2
The flower cluster hangs from the middle of a narrow papery bract. Later, that bract acts a little like a wing as the small fruits fall from the tree. In American linden, the flowers’ nectar attracts bees and contributes to the tree’s value as a Northeast pollinator plant.3
The honeylike aroma is already present in the flower. An infusion can suggest honey even when it contains no sweetener at all, which makes linden a useful example of how aroma can create perceived sweetness. American linden is a large native tree of New England forests and floodplains, so its flowers arrive from a very different scale of plant than the small herbs usually gathered for tea.24
Footnotes
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University of Minnesota Extension, “Edible Flowers,” accessed July 17, 2026. ↩
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Native Plant Trust, “Tilia americana — American Linden,” accessed July 17, 2026. ↩ ↩2
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Pennsylvania State University Extension, “A Native Tree for You to Love: The American Linden,” updated January 25, 2026. ↩
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Native Plant Trust, “basswood, linden — Tilia americana,” accessed August 12, 2026. ↩