Lime (Linden) Blossom

Group: Flowers

Linden came to Earth over 70 million years ago. The fossils were found in North Siberia, Spitsbergen, Chukotka Peninsula… So it’s very old and knowledgeable tree.   

Linden (Tilia) is a genus of about 40-80 species of mostly trees, native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in Asia (where the greatest species diversity is found), Europe and North America.

Most of them are trees with height from 20 to 40 meters. Linden lives up to 150 years, but some species are known to live up to 350 and even 600 years (especially large-leaved linden).

Linden is one of the most important trees in European, Eastern Asian and North American forests. It grows mostly in mixed forests with other deciduous and evergreen trees. In Europe there are a lot of places named after Linden tree. In Slavic cultures and mythology, linden (lipa (липа), as called in all Slavic languages) is a sacred tree and plays very important role. In Poland many villages have names such as Lipno and "Święta Lipka" (Holy Linden). Serbia has Lipljane, Ukraine has Lipovec, Chech Republic has Lipovka  and Russia has Lipetsk, Lipovki, Podlipki…To this day Linden is a national emblem of Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, and the Sorbs. 

It is also at the root of the name of German city Leipzig, taken from the Sorbian name lipsk. June is called Lipanj in Croatia and July is named Lipenj in Ukraine and Lipiec in Poland, after the month when linden blooms.

The Croatian currency, kuna, consists of 100 lipa. It was also a proposed name for Slovenians considered calling their currency Lipa in 1990 but the name "tolar" prevailed.


The Linden was also a highly symbolic and hallowed tree to the Germanic people in their native pre-Christian mythology. Originally, local communities assembled not only to celebrate and dance under a Linden tree, but to hold their judicial meetings there in order to restore justice and peace. The most notable street in Berlin, Germany is called Unter den Linden or Under the Linden, named after the beautifying the space. In German folklore, the Linden is the "tree of lovers”.

In Greek mythology Homer, Horace, Virgil, and Pliny mention the Linden tree and its virtues. As Ovid tells the old story of Baucis and Philemon, she was changed into a linden and he into an oak when the time came for them both to die.
 

Slavs used to plant linden close to churches, houses, and important meetings places. They believed that lightening would not hit the holy tree, so people hid underneath it during thunderstorms. If there was an ill person or kettle at home, linden branches were brought for healing. Nobody was supposed to break or cut the tree without special needs. People made talismans of linden wood; Pagan and Christian traditions blended. In the Slavic Orthodox Christian world, lindenwood was the preferred wood for panel icon painting including the linden icons by the hand of Andrei Rublev. 

Linden has been mentioned in literature by poets and writers such as Russian Anton Chekhov and Lev Tolstoy, Romanian Mihai Eminescu, Turkish Orhan Pamuk (love his writing!), French Marcel Proust, German Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Romanian Mihai Eminescu and many others…

Of course I can’t write about linden without mentioning it’s medicinal properties. Dried linden flowers are always kept in my “holy teas” cabinet. I gently collect flowers in the early morning or late evening and dry them in a dark and airy place.

Linden tea is a great “anti-cold” therapy when you get sick, and has also antiseptic and anti-flammatory properties. It contains essential oils, saponins, glycosides, carotene, ascorbic acid, phytoncides… I drink linden tea when I’m tired and sad. Feels good!

Here you can be touched by music inspired by the tree of love.

Tilleul by D`Orsay
Jelisaveta by HRH Princess Elizabeth
Lindenblossom Meadow by April Aromatics
Limes by Floris
Linden by Demeter Fragrance
French Lime Blossom by Jo Malone
 

Author: Olga Ikebanova

Perfumes and Colognes With Lime (Linden) Blossom