The Scent of Linden in the Air

Written by in Education and Activism

A Soothing Smell

I remember many years ago, before I lived in New York City, crossing the Williamsburg bridge on foot with my brother and a friend. It was very late, probably past midnight, and as our steps moved us past the East River and down over the shore on the Brooklyn side, we all felt a sweet,organic, plant scent filling the night’s air. We couldn’t determine the source of this soothing smell that seemed to be everywhere. Ever since, I associate that scent with Brooklyn in late spring.

I wasn’t difficult to determine what gave off the lovely smell that surprised us that night. As it turns out, it was an old acquaintance. Tilo (TEE-loh) was a word frequently uttered in Caracas, especially by the elders, and always as a suggested remedy during stressful situations. Before a wedding, during critical exams or after terrible news, the advise will invariable come, usually from a great-aunt: tómate un tilo para esos nervios. (Have a tilo for those nerves.) Tilo, a natural anxiolytic, is also the name given to the infusion prepared with the blossoms of that tree. Those same nerve-calming blossoms prescribed by my aunts and grandmothers were the ones responsible for the soothing aroma that wafts in the warming air of mid June everywhere in Brooklyn, just like it did that day we walked across the bridge, and they belong to the linden tree, a very common presence on our cities sidewalks and parks.

A Heart-Shaped Leaf on Siegfried’s Back

A huge European Linden from the Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morristown .

I started seeing the linden more like a mythical tree and less like a home remedy packed in  little bags to make infusions when I took a symbology class in college called Women in the Middle Ages. In the class, several pre-Christian myths and stories featuring prominent female heroes were analyzed. One of these stories was the famous German epic poem known as The Song of Nibelungs, composed in the twelfth century by an anonymous author. It tells the story of Siegfried, prince of the Niederland, of his murdering and the subsequent revenge taken by his widow, the Burgundian princess Kriemhild, and of the fall of the Burgundian kingdom. The story has been told in many ways—Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen is probably one of the better known ones— and encompasses many richly described episodes packed with love, heroism, violence, and deceit.There is also a magic incident that involves a linden tree and sets the conditions for the killing of Siegfried, a major event that propels the second half of the poem—the story Kriemhild’s vengeance and the defeat of the Burgundians by the Huns.

The heart-shaped leaves of the Linden.

Like many other medieval heroes, Siegfried also slayed a dragon. But unlike most of them, Siegfried bathed in the blood of the slaughtered dragon. Dragon’s blood has an interesting property: it makes the skin it touches invulnerable. By bathing in dragon’s blood, Siegfried became invincible. Or almost: a linden tree leaf that had fallen on the hero’s back just before he dipped in the dragon’s blood left a single, heart shaped spot unprotected by its charm. This information—the specific location of the weak spot—treacherously obtained from Kriemhild by her deceitful uncle, Hagen, is later used to kill Siegfried during a hunting trip.

Photogram from Fritz Lang’s Die Nibelungen: Siegfried bathing in the dragon’s blood. 1924.

Why a linden leaf and not just any other leaf? A number of sources in the internet connect the linden tree to Freyja, the Norse goddess of love, fertility and death, but I couldn’t find a single source that explained the origin of such connection. We know that during the Holy Roman Empire, assemblies and judicial courts were held in special linden trees known as Gerichtslinde. These linden were often planted in open spaces near towns, and are probably connected to the German folklore belief that is impossible to lie while standing below a linden tree. 

All these factors could explain why the author of The Song of the Nibelungs used a linden leaf, and not just any other leaf, in the story of Siegfried. It is also possible that he just chose it because it is a cordate leaf: a heart-shaped leaf can work well as a sign to mark the spot where life throbs. 

The Linden on Eagle Street

Flowers of the American Linden

Usually, when I write these articles, before or after looking for cultural or literary connections, I get on my bike and look for specimens in or near Greenpoint. I like getting close to my subjects: taking pictures of them, touching them, hearing them, smelling them, and then telling you about them. But this time I didn’t have to go far at all. In fact, just had to look out of my bedroom window to be immersed in the crown of a lovely American linden (Tilia americana) that I’ve seen growing right here on the sidewalk of our apartment building for the last 10 years. When we moved in, it barely reached the second floor. Now it’s actually taller than the three-floor building. And you may call me superstitious, but I wouldn’t dare to tell a lie below it. 

Right now it’s in full bloom, and displays its long yellowish bracts like swords among the leaves. These bracts, or specialized leaves, are believed to provide some help in distributing the seeds, but they might also function as an attraction factor for pollinators, especially nocturnal ones. Judging by the powerful scent, though, these little flowers don’t seem to have any problem attracting buzzing insects twenty-four hours a day. Although the linden flowers belong to a type of flowers known as perfect flowers—they have both male and female structures—they do depend on the insects that feed on their sweet nectar. And if the linden scent is this intoxicating for us humans, I can’t imagine what it must be like for bees, wasps, or flies. These aromatic flowers, as a matter of fact, are the reason why beekeepers love linden trees—it is said that the paler linden flower honey simply tastes better than other honeys.

Silver Linden flowers.

There are several other species of linden growing right here in Greenpoint. Silver lindens (Tilia tormentosa) can be easily spotted as their silvery-back leaves flicker in the wind. The smaller leaves of Tilia cordata are also a common sight everywhere in the neighborhood. In fact, it would be a nearly impossible task to take a walk in Brooklyn and not find a linden tree. But even if you don’t see them, even if you are not paying attention as you rush through the day, you will smell them. And that alone can make your day.

MORE TREE TALES FROM GOGREEN BK