Lime trees in bloom along Broadway

The lime or linden trees along East Broadway are coming to the end of their season of bloom.

These limes are nothing to do with the citrus fruit. According to Bill Casselman, the name, which has its origins in ancient Arabic, is a corruption of lind, which was old Norse for soft and flexible. Lind then morphed into line, then lime.

These are lovely boulevard trees; as the picture shows, they lean over busy Broadway to provide welcome summer shade.

The blooms have a light and lovely fragrance. Besides perfuming my arrival at work in recent weeks, they have left a fine golden dust of pollen at the edges of the sidewalk.

According to Nicole Perez, lime blossom has long been in use as a herbal remedy; linden tea is used to promote relaxation and digestion. Linden flowers are also used in skin creams and tonics.