As a little boy, I used to spend my weekends out and about as a boy scout and because of that, I learnt many practical skills (including using difference parts of trees) - natural remedies, wood carving to name a couple. In the area I grew up, one of the most common trees is the Basswood Tree.
The Basswood tree is publicly known as the Lime tree, Linden tree and many other names. To note, although it’s called the Lime tree, it has nothing to do with lime citrus. :)
Basswood trees tend to be quite large and usually plays an ornamental role, though it is also functional, especially when shade is needed. Lime trees are important in mythology, literature and folklore of many cultures. Even today, the tree is a national emblem of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and several other countries.
Basswood trees are widely grown in Europe, America and in Asia, where it has the biggest diversity. This tree is very popular with local inhabitants in every continent. Its sap is used by ants while humans use the bark for clothing, leaves for herbalism and wood for timber work; from wood carving, building shields, construction of housing to the crafting of musical instruments.
The flowers that basswood trees produce are also very important for beekeepers to produce flavourful honeys that have been enjoyed for thousands of years. Its flowers are also used in herbal teas and tinctures in herbal medicine practices.
We are not going to do a cocktail recipe for this article as we will be combining the Basswood honey with another ingredient together in next article!
So stay tuned for what’s next!
