Tilia tomentosa

Tilia tomentosa, the Lime or Linden tree is a species that is frequently found in Dublin streets for its resilience against pollution as well as its ornamental value. It is known colloquially as the ‘traffic warden tree’ as it drips leaf sap onto cars parked underneath. It is a commonly researched species globally, with more than 50 of its features being studied, as retrieved from relevant databases. Recent studies suggest that the nectar of Linden trees may contain a caffeine-like substance which can deceive foraging bees to keep returning to flowers which have low or no nectar rewards, ultimately resulting in bee starvation (Kocj and Stevenson, 2017). Voucher specimens from this tree from 2017 are conserved in Trinity College Herbarium, making it also a good specimen to compare changes in the near past.

1. Koch H, Stevenson PC. Do linden trees kill bees? Reviewing the causes of bee deaths on silver linden (Tilia tomentosa). Biology letters. 2017 Sep 30;13(9):20170484