A modern reference to temperate woody plants, including updated content from this site and much new material, can be found at Trees and Shrubs Online.

International Dendrology Society

Tilia maximowicziana Shirasawa

Modern name

Tilia maximowicziana Shiras.

A tree 70 to 100 ft high; young shoots downy. Leaves roundish ovate, 3 to 6 in. long, scarcely as wide; contracted at the apex to a short point, heart-shaped at the base, coarsely toothed, dark green and slightly downy above, covered beneath with grey stellate down, and furnished with conspicuous tufts in the axils of the veins; stalk 11⁄2 to 3 in. long. Flowers not seen in this country but described as being produced in clusters of ten to eighteen, the floral bracts 3 to 4 in. long, downy. Fruits 3⁄8 in. long, ribbed.

Native of Japan in Hokkaido and the northern part of the main island. It was introduced to Kew from the Arnold Arboretum in 1890, but this tree did not thrive and had not flowered by 1913. The present tree, planted in 1910, flowers freely in July and measures 55 × 41⁄4 ft (1967). The species is uncommon in Britain, and the only other sizeable example grows in the Thorp Perrow collection.

From other Asiatic species with the leaves tomentose beneath this differs in having tufts of brownish hairs in the leaf-axils.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

specimens: Kew, pl. 1910, two trees, the larger 63 × 5 ft (1986); Talbot Manor, Norf., pl. 1948, 33 × 21⁄2 ft (1978); Thorp Perrow, Bedale, Yorks., 66 × 33⁄4 ft (1970) and 36 × 11⁄2 ft (1981).

† var. yesoana (Nakai) Tatewaki T. miyabei var. yesoana Nakai – A less pubescent state, with the leaves green beneath; possibly only a juvenile form (Ohwi, Fl. Jap., p. 622). It is interesting in this connection that plants raised by H. J. Elwes at Colesbourne, received from Japan in 1905, had only traces of pubescence on the twigs and the underside of the leaves (Elwes & Henry, Tr. Gr. Brit., Vol. VII, p. 1684). If such a condition persisted, it could easily result in cultivated trees of T. maximowicziana being misidentified as some other species.

Genus

Tilia

Other species in the genus

Modern name

Some names used by Bean have now been superseded and are no longer familiar. To ensure that all plants can be easily found, under any name, we have cross-referenced to The Plant List, a collaboration between RBG Kew, Missouri Botanical Gardens and other organisations, which aims to provide a currently accepted name for any plant. Not all taxonomists will agree with all Plant List nomenclature, but it provides a baseline to compare names. For each species above, clicking on the Modern Name will link to the entry for that name on The Plant List website.

A site produced by the International Dendrology Society through the support of the Dendrology Charitable Company.

For copyright and licence information, see the Licence page.

To contact the editors: .