American Linden / Basswood

About American Linden / Basswood in Alberta

American Linden, also called Basswood, is a large deciduous shade tree native to eastern and central North America but best treated in Alberta as an introduced planted tree. For ARA, its strongest relevance is in older urban, institutional, park, and large residential landscapes where long-lived canopy trees were intentionally planted and maintained. Large Alberta specimens are most likely to be meaningful as planted heritage trees rather than as wild native records.

Identification: Leaves are alternate, simple, broad, and heart-shaped, often with an uneven or asymmetrical base. They are usually larger than the leaves of littleleaf linden and have sharply toothed edges. In summer, the large leaf size and broad canopy can make the tree look softer and heavier than many other planted boulevard or park trees.

Alberta range and habitat: American Linden is native farther east in Canada and North America, but the available Alberta evidence supports treating it as planted rather than wild in Alberta. No strong Alberta naturalized or wild population evidence was confirmed.