White Basswood

The White Basswood is a member of the Basswood family. It is 60-80 feet tall, and the trunk is about 2 feet in diameter. It's leaves are broadly ovate and heart shaped. They are green on the top and white color on the bottom. The whiteness on the underside is caused by a thick coat of tiny white hairs. The leaves are toothed, unlobed,and have a palmate vein formation. The leaves have an alternate pattern on the branch. The bark of the White Basswood is gray, becoming furrowed into scaly ridges. The twigs are either gray or brown in color. They are slender and have a slightly zigzag shape. The flowers on this Basswood are 12-15 millimeters wide. They are yellow-white and have five petals. Long-stalked fragrant clusters hang from the middle of a greenish bract in early summer. The fruit of the White Basswood is a gray, round, nutlike ball. The gray color is because it is covered in tiny hairs. One to two seeds mature each summer.

The White Basswood is located in the eastern part of the United States. It grows mainly in West Virginia, Kentucky,Tennesse, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina, but it can grow as far south as northern Florida and as far north as southern New York.

The White Basswood, like the American Basswood is used for making boxes, furniture, and pulpwood.

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