Eat the Trees: Linden for Bees Teas Food +Spirit

Linden trees have been sacred in Baltic and other European traditions from ancient through modern times. The Little-leaf Linden Tilia cordata is wide-spread in Europe, hardy here in Alberta z 3 (though may need somewhat sheltered locations? here it is more or less in open woodland). Besides its beauty and history, it is fantastic for pollinators- as it starts to get some size, just imagine the numbers of those tiny flowers, which draw bees or all shapes and sizes, many kinds of wasps, flower flies, beetles, etc.
Besides those advantages, the leaves are edible (many things in the family - Malvaceae- have edible parts: think mallows, okra, hibiscus etc). Like some of those cousins, the leaves are somewhat mucilaginous- good for digestion- with a mild but pleasant flavour. I sometimes eat them right off the tree when young and tender, also pluck a few handfuls here and there to toss in soup. Flowers are used for tea, though I haven't tried this.
They even appear in one of my short stories, with a spiritual connection..
Music:
July by John Patitucci