Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Tilia tomentosa

Tilia tomentosa

9.8
A large tree with silvery leaves that are white and soft underneath
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : tilo plateado
  • The leaves of Tilia tomentosa are easily recognized by the white, felt-like underside.

Examples

  • Several parks feature the Tilia tomentosa because of its attractive silvery foliage.

  • Gardeners often plant Tilia tomentosa for shade and ornamental value in urban areas.

  • The Tilia tomentosa is known for its fragrant flowers.

  • In spring, the Tilia tomentosa blooms beautifully.

  • Gardeners often plant Tilia tomentosa for shade and ornamental value in urban areas.

  • Several parks feature the Tilia tomentosa because of its attractive silvery foliage.

  • The leaves of Tilia tomentosa are easily recognized by the white, felt-like underside.

Synonyms

silver linden
vsTilia tomentosa
  • UK
8.9

A large tree with leaves that are silver underneath often planted in parks

is an alternative name used interchangeably for the same tree
silver lime
vsTilia tomentosa
7.5

A large tree with leaves that are white and soft underneath and often planted in parks

is another common name that refers to the identical species

Surface Forms

Tilia tomentosa singular
Tilia tomentosas plural

Morphology

Tilia + tomentosa

This is a botanical Latin binomial: while 'Tilia' names a genus, 'tomentosa' is a technical Latin descriptor not present in general English dictionaries. A B1 learner who knows the separate words (or even the genus name) would not be able to derive the species meaning or the idea of 'white, woolly hairs' from these constituents, so the expression is not compositionally transparent.

Etymology

Tilia tomentosa comes from Latin words that describe the tree. Tilia is the name for the linden tree and tomentosa means 'covered in soft, woolly hairs', a clear image of the tree's silvery leaf undersides, so the name tells you how the tree looks.