[6] The bark is smooth and grayish when young, firm with vertical ridges and horizontal fissures when older.

The fruit is a dry nut-like drupe, 6–7 mm long by 4 mm broad, containing 1-2 brown seeds (infertile fruits are globose), downy at first becoming smooth at maturity, and (unlike T. platyphyllos, T. × europaea) not ribbed but very thin and easily cracked open.

[4] The trees favour good, loamy sites, but can also be found on sandy, infertile soils, and are not thought to be drought resistant.

[8] In Britain Tilia cordata, traditionally called pry, is considered an indicator of ancient woodland, and is becoming increasingly rare.

Cocklode Wood, part of the Bardney Limewoods in Lincolnshire, is the best surviving spread of medieval small leaved limes in England.

[13] In spite of the late migration of T. cordata into the Lake District, pollen diagrams from many sites show rapid expansion so that, within a few centuries, it had become plentiful and even locally dominant in the southern valleys.

At several sites among the limestone hills on both sides of the estuary of the River Kent, the curves for Tilia, although beginning about 4800 to 4000 B.C.

The (Witherslack) basin is about 200 m (660 ft) in width, so that with distance correction factors applied this indicates that the surrounding woodlands on well-drained soils contained Tilia, Quercus and Ulmus in the proportions 4 : 1 : 1.

Precise age determination is impossible as heartwood at the centre disintegrates and therefore rings cannot be counted, and other methods are used.

In the US, Tilia cordata has been planted in Wellesley, MA; Modesto, CA; Chicago, IL; Indianapolis, IN; and Atlanta, GA as street trees.

[20] The tree prefers moist, well drained soil, but can survive flooding; it is not highly drought tolerant.

Linden wood was the prime choice for the carvings in St. Paul's Cathedral, Windsor Castle, and Chatsworth House.

[26] It is also commonly used for lightweight projects such as carved spoons, light furniture, bee hives and honeycomb frames.