The _leaves_ are broadly heart-shaped, 3 to 6 inches long, coarsely
saw-toothed, smooth on both sides, except for some hairs on the axils of
the veins. They are dark above but light green beneath.
The _flowers_ are yellowish-white, in drooping clusters opening in early
summer, and flower stem is united to the middle of a long narrow
leaf-like bract. They are very fragrant and from them the bees make a
large amount of choice grade honey.
The _fruit_ is a berry-like, dry, 1 or 2 seeded, rounded nutlet 1/4 to
1/2 an inch in diameter, covered with short, thick and brownish wool. It
remains attached in clusters to the leafy bract, which later acts as a
wing to bear it away on the wind.
The _wood_ is light, soft, tough, not durable, light brown in color. It
is used in the manufacture of pulp, woodenware, furniture, trunks,
excelsior and many other articles.
It makes a fine shade tree, grows rapidly and is easily transplanted.
The white basswood, _Tilia heterophylla_ Vent., is similar to the
preceding species, but with somewhat lighter bark. The leaves are
larger, dark yellow-green above, the under surface being generally
densely covered with short, silvery or gray hairs with tufts of brown
hairs in the axils of the veins. It is more plentiful in the southern
part of the State.
+FLOWERING DOGWOOD+ _Cornus florida_ L.
THE flowering dogwood is rare in the northern third of the State. It is
a small tree, growing under the larger forest trees, usually 15 to 30
feet in height and 6 to 12 inches in diameter, with a rather flat and
spreading crown and short, often crooked trunk. The _bark_ is
reddish-brown to black and broken up into small 4-sided scaly blocks.
[Illustration: FLOWERING DOGWOOD