Collect and use linden flowers and leaves

Already 800 years ago Hildegard von Bingen recommended laying linden leaves on your face for a good night's sleep. Today the diverse healing effects of linden blossoms and leaves are partly scientifically confirmed.

There Linden trees (Tilia) are among the most common urban trees, the linden blossom in June and July is almost impossible to miss. At this time, the trees give off a pleasant scent and are filled with a continuous humming and humming, because linden trees are among the most important for honey production. But linden trees do not only have a lot to offer for bees; for us humans, too, linden blossoms and leaves are extremely healthy and can be used in a variety of ways. Find out in this article whether you can eat the different parts of linden, when to harvest linden blossoms and what linden blossom tea is good for. Everything to Growing and caring for linden trees we have, however, summarized it for you in a separate article.

Are linden flowers and linden leaves edible?

You can eat both linden blossom and linden leaves. Linden leaves, for example, are excellent in a salad and linden blossoms are very popular as a decoration for dishes and of course for linden blossom tea. But you can also eat the fruits of the linden tree, which provide valuable fatty acids. Shortly after flowering they are still soft, but become harder as they ripen, especially in the case of the summer linden tree. Even then, the linden fruits can still be peeled and then nibbled raw or used as a side salad, for example.

Tip: There are around 50 species of linden, but only for flowers and leaves of winter linden (Tilia cordata) and summer linden (Tilia platyphyllos) a medical effect is confirmed. Therefore, before collecting, find out which species of linden you are dealing with. Silver linden flowers and leaves, for example, have no medically significant effect (Tilia tomentosa).

Collect and use linden flowers

If you are sure that your linden tree is summer or winter linden, collecting linden flowers is no longer difficult. It only takes some time, but rewards you with your own supply of linden flowers for the next year.

What to consider when harvesting and drying linden flowers

• When do you harvest linden blossoms? 1 - 4 days after the start of flowering in full bloom. Summer linden trees bloom a little earlier than winter linden trees. Linden trees bloom between June and July.
• Pick linden blossoms including the light bracts and the flower stalks.
• Drying: gently, turning several times in a shady place. If necessary, dry again at 45 ° C - this works well in the dehydrator, for example.
• Storage: dark and dry, no longer than a year.

After collecting, linden flowers can be used in a variety of ways. The best known is probably the linden blossom tea. For this, either two teaspoons of fresh or one teaspoon of dried linden blossom are poured over a cup of hot water. Then let it stand for 5 to 10 minutes and strain it off.

You can also use linden blossoms for a cold brew, make linden blossom syrup and tinctures from them, or use the blossoms for relaxation baths and for inhalation. If you let the syrup thicken a little longer, some even refer to it as vegan "linden blossom honey", i.e. a vegan honey substitute. Lime blossom tinctures are also widely used today for the production of cosmetics such as creams, face tonic and soaps.
Linden flowers have even been used in gynecology for a long time. Linden blossoms can be helpful during pregnancy, as they can relieve anxious tension and facilitate childbirth.

Tip: Sometimes it is recommended not to exceed a daily dose of two to three cups. Apparently, however, no side effects of linden blossom and leaves are known to date. Therefore, approach the consumption carefully and do not overdo it, because as with any food, excessive consumption could lead to problems. However, especially during pregnancy or when children are taking linden blossom tea, it should be useful to consult your doctor.

Harvest and use linden leaves

If you want to dry and store linden leaves, only fully developed linden leaves should be harvested. The best harvest time is therefore between June and August.
Since it is not uncommon for aphids and the honeydew they produce to adhere to the leaves, the leaves should be washed first. Here, too, the harvested crop should first be gently dried in the shade, which may be followed by artificial drying at 45 ° C. In the course of storing dried linden leaves, the same applies as for linden blossoms, because this should be done in a dark and dry place and should take place for a maximum of one year. You can also make tea from linden leaves, but here, for example, the sweat-inducing effect is not convincingly confirmed. External use is more common with linden leaves - for example, decoctions with linden leaves can be used as a poultice for various skin diseases.

Young leaves can be used in a variety of ways when they are fresh. Their taste is pleasant and sweet, so that they can also be used in large quantities for salads or green smoothies. And as Hildegard von Bingen recommended, linden leaves are also helpful for tired eyes. For example, if your eyes are strained from sitting in front of the screen or reading, you can You put some fresh linden leaves on your eyes overnight and use light sleep masks fix.

Effect of the linden tree

Since linden flowers and leaves are natural remedies, the effects mentioned here are More proven by experience of centuries of use than by scientific studies.
Linden blossoms contain many health-relevant substances. These include, for example, saponins, tannins and mucilage, essential oils and, above all, a high content of flavonoids. Thanks to these ingredients, linden blossom is said to have various effects, some of which we have summarized here in a short list:

• Expectorant
• Sweaty
• Reassuring
• Slightly hypotensive
• Cough-relieving
• Anti-inflammatory

Because of these effects, linden blossom tea is often used for fevers, colds, diseases of the upper respiratory tract, rheumatism and some other ailments.

In the case of leaves, the content of ingredients is more dependent on the location and the season. They stand out above all for their high tannin content, but they also contain various sugars, healthy fats and enzymes. Sometimes a high content of vegetable mucilage is mentioned, which gives soups a nice, creamy consistency. As already mentioned, the effects of linden leaves have been less well studied than those of linden flowers. But even if the effect of linden leaves is less sweaty than that of the flowers, linden leaf extracts can be used, for example, for sore throats.

If you are now considering planting a linden tree in your garden, you will find further information on this in our article on Planting, pruning and propagating linden trees.