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LINDEN TREE Many people, especially in the U.S.A., are not aware that their neighborhood is surrounded with Linden Tree. This tree can be very useful by making tea out of it, and use it as a cure in case of fever, sore throat, flu etc. “Sonja what are you doing to the tree?” “I am just trying to collect some linden flowers so that I can make some tea.” “Are you crazy? Tea? What if it is poison? I just smiled. That’s what my friend Angela thought when she saw me collecting linden flowers from a linden tree right by our college. When I was growing up, my family did not have a heating system in our house. Actually at that time we did not know what a heating system was. I remember that every other month one of us would get sick by catching a cold or fever. Being on tight budget my family could not afford to buy medication all the time, but we always had this special tea to drink in case we got sick, it is called Linden Tea. One of my favorite hobbies is to walk. During my college years in Iowa I loved to go outside for short walks and enjoy the fresh air. I was really surprised to see that in every neighborhood there were linden trees everywhere. Linden tea is a very popular tea in Europe, the tree itself is mostly known as Tilia Europaea. In the medical language it would be called an herbal medicine. “As we know herbal is one of the oldest forms of medicine known to man. They are normally chosen because of their healing powers with the body. They can be used at home as an ideal medicine for minor sickness or non threatening diseases.” (“Stash Stress Relief Tea with Passion Flowers”) Linden tree is not native to America, it was first found in Europe, China and Mongolia. “This tree has a great significance for most European countries. According to Greek legends, the linden tree is the symbol of conjugal love, and of the perfect wife; simplicity, innocence, gentle manners. In England native linden tree is one of the tallest and longest-lived trees in all of Europe. In Germany in particular, the linden tree has a deep emblematic power; many German villages have an official town where linden tree is planted in their main squares, some of these trees are as much as 1,000 years old.” (“Country Journal” p.61) “Geographically linden tree is found almost in every European country and on the North part of United States.
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