Under the Linden Tree

MIND

Tillia contains more than 40 species of trees. Also called “Lime Trees", these deciduous beauties pepper the landscape of the northern hemisphere. Tillia cordata, the most commonly used medicinal Linden is known for its heart-shaped leaves and heights of up to 100ft. In Denver, the blooming season can be late June to late July depending on the weather. The highly floral honey-like blossoms will tell you when they’re ready. In fact, everyone in Denver knows when the Lindens are blooming…even if you don’t know what a Linden is; the fragrance is unmistakeable. They’ve been called bee trees, and you can imagine why. At the right time of day it can be hard to find a flower not being tended by pollinators!

An ally for the ecosystem this is an incredibly resilient tree that can be regularly pruned to provide not only medicine, but inner bark for material goods such as ropes and nets. It makes a beautiful sentinel tree for the home, comparable to Oak or Ash, which is likely why it lines so many parkways and boulevards.

Tillia cordata - roughly translates from its Greek and Latin roots as “the tree with the heart-shaped leaves.” Heart medicine indeed! Linden is a wonderful cardio-tonic for stress, hypertension, and any other tension brought on by nervousness or anxiety. I remember as a kid loving to sit under the school Linden tree, with its honey-scented flowers, and gathering the fallen “helicopter blades” from the ground to drop, with wonder, from the highest point on the playground.

As an adult, it is one of my favorite tea herbs that you’ll usually find in my daily blend. It is a wonderful tonic herb that can be taken over a long period of time with no side effects or drug interactions. Get to know Linden and feel it soften and sweeten your physical and spiritual heart. - Isabella

BODY

Linden leaves have been historically included in the human diet, and make an interesting addition to a salad. They have less mucilage but are just as chewy as some of the other Malvaceae family plants. It is a soothing, softening, irritability alleviating ally. It has benefits for the blood, heart, cholesterol, blood pressure, and for energetic softening. Anti-inflammatory properties also make it good for skin and valuable for cold & flu. Linden is an plant for healing, for peace, and for the freedom that both of those experiences bring. You can imagine the quality of this herb when you notice it aids us most in the systems and dis-ease processes that often occur with poor habits, inter-generational or genetic adaptation/trauma, and the need for greater self-care. It is a protective plant, a balancing plant - mind, body & spirit,

Linden or Tilia is one of my very favorite herbal allies. The first time I had a strong linden tea I was so delighted by the sweet and floral flavor, so I decided to dive in and really get to know Linden. Linden is a very gentle medicine, commonly used for conditions of the heart, to help support us emotionally— helping us to move through grief, sadness, and heart ache— as well as to support overall cardiovascular health. Some of my favorite ways to use Linden are less commonly talked about, Linden is a wonderful calmative, to assist with stress and anxiety. Linden is also a lovely mild anti-spasmodic, useful for tending to any muscle pain or menstrual cramping.

Linden grows abundantly throughout Denver, lining many of the streets. You can find them easily by their heart shaped leaves and fragrant sweet yellow flowers that waft throughout the city. Linden is a magical sweet healer, we love Linden!! -Amy

Linden is such a gorgeous tree, with valuable and sometimes overlooked medicine, as they grow all over Denver, smelling of sweet golden honey, leaving little winged seedlings trailing around their canopy. As an antispasmodic, this gentle nervine can be helpful for headaches, heart tension, high blood pressure, hyperactivity and general overstimulation. Linden is sweet and cooling, and can be a great ally to the central nervous system. - Tasha

SPIRIT

This tree is sacred to many across the world. Many great mythical healers to include Freya and Frigg are associated with Linden; in fact it is often given a female association, identified commonly as grandmother & guardian of healing wisdom. Correspondence with Jupiter invites the spirit medicine of expansion by way of resisting or realigning anything that causes suppression. This trees can be contained, manicured, but they are their most brilliant and beautiful when they are allowed to be wild and uninhibited. While Venus undertones emphasize the body healing qualities of Linden.

For me, a Linden tree stands guardian at the front of my gate. We planted her when we first move to our home. She has thrived in a way that is inspiring, and is growing into a truly magnificent tree. I believe our tree communicates frequently with the Linden directly across the street. It seems as though there is nourishment shared between them somehow and wisdom from the elder to ours. Every time I pass her I feel a blessing. And the more she grows the less she needs, yet I find the need to honor her more. I am grateful, deeply grateful, for the food (my bees love her!), medicine, guardianship, joy, beauty, fragrance, peacefulness, restoration, and resilience she has given to me, and to my family, these last 11 years.

I never knew of Linden until I moved here to Colorado. When I first met this lovely tree I was overwhelmed by how gorgeous the flowers smelled. It has such a bright warming smell, that reminds me of the sun. I find this reflected in its medicine. Just as the sun is the center of our solar system, linden helps support the heart which I find to correlate to our center spiritually and physically. As a gentle antispasmodic and gentle nervine it has a focus on relaxing our cardiovascular and nervous system helping us in times of anxiety or other emotional states which can disconnect us from our higher self. As a sun herb this is its spiritual medicine to help us connect with our center, our truest forms of ourselves. -Cody

Linden was first introduced to me for its lovely nervine properties, through a fellow student herbalist in the Herbal Warrior program we took together. She told me it was a favorite of hers for anxiety. While I have not worked much with Linden since, I feel peace when I sit under the sweet blooming trees around Denver. -Lilli