Tilia americana

L.

American Basswood

G5Secure Found in 56 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.139458
Element CodePDTIL02010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderMalvales
FamilyMalvaceae
GenusTilia
Other Common Names
American basswood (EN) Tilleul d'Amérique (FR)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-09-24
Change Date1984-09-06
Edition Date2024-09-24
Edition AuthorsSoteropoulos (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Tilia americana is a wide-ranging tree in a variety of forested habitats occurring in eastern and central North America from New Brunswick west to Manitoba, Canada south to Florida and Texas in the United States, and Mexico. Threats potentially include development, logging, and invasive species. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, abundant habitat, broad habitat preferences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Tilia americana occurs in eastern and central North America from New Brunswick west to Manitoba, Canada south to Florida and Texas in the United States, and Mexico (Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2024). Range extent was estimated to be approximately over 8 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens and photo-based observations documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are thousands of occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, SEINet 2024). However, this taxon is commonly cultivated, and iNatualist observations (>38,000, mostly identified at the species-level) were not evaluated for evidence of cultivation (iNaturalist 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, this species is potentially threatened by development, logging, invasive species, and other threats in some places. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Tilia americana grows in mesic forests, rich coves, rocky slopes, rich north-facing river bluffs, stream and lake shores, metabasalt boulderfields, and calcareous Coastal Plain ravines (Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2024).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest - HardwoodForest - Mixed
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
OntarioS5Yes
ManitobaS3Yes
New BrunswickS4Yes
QuebecS4Yes
SaskatchewanSNANo
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
MaineSNRYes
FloridaSNRYes
West VirginiaS5Yes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
MichiganSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
South DakotaSNRYes
GeorgiaSNRYes
WyomingSNANo
NebraskaSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
AlabamaSNRYes
KentuckySNRYes
TennesseeSNRYes
MissouriSNRYes
VermontS5Yes
New JerseySNRYes
South CarolinaSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
DelawareS4Yes
KansasSNRYes
ConnecticutSNRYes
District of ColumbiaSNRYes
OklahomaS3Yes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
North DakotaSNRYes
North CarolinaS5Yes
MississippiSNRYes
VirginiaS5Yes
New YorkS5Yes
IllinoisSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
TexasSNRYes
IowaSNRYes
New HampshireSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
IndianaS5Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (56)
Arkansas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Clifty CanyonOzark-St. Francis National Forest1,963
Florida (1)
AreaForestAcres
Alexander Springs CreekOcala National Forest2,954
Georgia (2)
AreaForestAcres
Boggs CreekChattahoochee National Forest2,073
Pink KnobChattahoochee National Forest12,127
Indiana (1)
AreaForestAcres
Mogan RidgeHoosier National Forest8,435
Maine (1)
AreaForestAcres
Caribou - Speckled ExtWhite Mountain National Forest5,988
Michigan (1)
AreaForestAcres
FibreHiawatha National Forest7,432
Minnesota (1)
AreaForestAcres
Hegman LakesSuperior National Forest675
New Hampshire (6)
AreaForestAcres
Carr MountainWhite Mountain National Forest17,110
Kinsman MountainWhite Mountain National Forest8,999
PemigewassetWhite Mountain National Forest32,255
Presidential - Dry River ExtWhite Mountain National Forest10,555
Sandwich RangeWhite Mountain National Forest16,797
Wild RiverWhite Mountain National Forest46,878
North Carolina (8)
AreaForestAcres
Bald MountainPisgah National Forest11,085
Craggy MountainPisgah National Forest2,657
Harper CreekPisgah National Forest7,325
Linville Gorge AdditionPisgah National Forest2,809
Lost CovePisgah National Forest5,944
Slide HollowPisgah National Forest193
Wesser BaldNantahala National Forest4,061
Yellowhammer Branch (add.)Nantahala National Forest1,255
North Dakota (2)
AreaForestAcres
SheyenneDakota Prairie Grasslands14,537
VenloDakota Prairie Grasslands5,317
Oklahoma (1)
AreaForestAcres
Beech CreekOuachita National Forest8,303
Pennsylvania (2)
AreaForestAcres
Allegheny FrontAllegheny National Forest7,430
Tracy RidgeAllegheny National Forest9,034
Tennessee (3)
AreaForestAcres
Bald MountainCherokee National Forest11,743
Sampson Mountain AdditionCherokee National Forest3,064
Slide HollowCherokee National Forest4,057
Texas (1)
AreaForestAcres
Little Lake CreekNational Forests in Texas596
Vermont (3)
AreaForestAcres
Bread LoafGreen Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests1,768
Griffith Lake 09084Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests1,833
Wilder Mountain 09082Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests8,759
Virginia (10)
AreaForestAcres
Brush Mountain EastJefferson National Forest4,916
Gum RunGeorge Washington National Forest12,620
Hoop HoleJefferson National Forest4,652
New London Bridge BranchJefferson National Forest844
North MountainJefferson National Forest8,377
Northern MassanuttenGeorge Washington National Forest9,444
Oak KnobGeorge Washington National Forest10,882
Raccoon BranchJefferson National Forest4,388
SkidmoreGeorge Washington National Forest5,641
The PriestGeorge Washington National Forest5,737
West Virginia (11)
AreaForestAcres
Cranberry AdditionMonongahela National Forest11,123
Cranberry Glades Botanical AreaMonongahela National Forest785
Dolly Sods Roaring PlainMonongahela National Forest13,392
Dry River (WV)George Washington National Forest7,331
East Fork Of GreenbrierMonongahela National Forest7,167
Falls Of Hills CreekMonongahela National Forest6,925
Glady ForkMonongahela National Forest3,239
Mcgowan MountainMonongahela National Forest10,504
Middle MountainMonongahela National Forest19,020
North Mountain HopevilleMonongahela National Forest6,525
Seneca CreekMonongahela National Forest22,287
Wisconsin (1)
AreaForestAcres
09159 - ThornappleChequamegon-Nicolet National Forest9,744
References (7)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2015. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 6. Magnoliophyta: Cucurbitaceae to Droserceae. Oxford University Press, New York. 496 pp + xxiv.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
  3. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  4. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  5. Little, E.L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agriculture Handbook No. 541. U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C. 375 pp.
  6. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).
  7. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2024. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of March 4, 2024. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2203 pp.