Yesterday’s basswood leaf prompted a comment from Alder Burns regarding this amazing species, American basswood, Tilia americana. Basswood is a species of linden. Here is a picture of the tree that gave up that leaf. It is a huge American basswood in Lexington Cemetery.

The tree stands next to a monument to Henry Clay. Some people think the tree was planted when the monument was erected in the 1850s. The truth is that the basswood is far older than the monument. Lexington Cemetery was established in 1848 after its founders bought a large woodland pasture with hundreds of ancient trees. Many of these trees, including this basswood, remain. It is one of the most beautiful cemeteries I have ever visited.

Photo of an American basswood in Lexington Cemetery by Tom Kimmerer