Linden is one of my favorite summertime teas to enjoy on a relaxing afternoon in the sun. Linden blossoms have an exotic orchid-like fragrance that comes through in a mildly sweet floral tea that’s perfect on its own or with a bit of raw honey. Midsummer if you know how to identify linden trees (or you can follow your nose) it’s easy to harvest your own in the Northeast. Otherwise, it’s easy enough to pick up loose leaf dried linden online.
Beyond the wonderful flavor, linden tea has some impressive medicinal benefits.
Linden for Stress, Anxiety and Insomnia
Linden tea is a relaxing nervine that soothes frayed nerves and aids with relaxation. It also an antispasmodic that helps prevent cramps and loosen tight muscles, to help relieve tension related pain such as migraines and menstrual cramps. Especially when used along with hawthorn, linden helps to improve circulation and lower blood pressure. All of these properties combine to make it a powerful herb for stress, tension and insomnia. This linden tea from Traditional Medicinals includes hawthorn blossoms and lemon balm, which is great for all around relaxation. Or, mix your own with this recipe:
Relaxing Linden Tea Blend
2 parts linden blossoms
1 part lemon balm leaves
1 part hawthorn berries
Mix the ingredients in a jar. When ready to use, mix 2-3 tablespoons with 1 cup of boiling water. Strain and drink plain or with honey.
Linden for Fever and Respiratory Illness
A naturally cooling herb, linden is also used for fevers and aid in restful sleep while you’re sick. It has a natural mucilage component that helps soothe respiratory pathways and help with coughs and colds. For respiratory illness, linden mixes well with elderflower, lemon balm and marshmallow root.
Linden Tea for Respiratory Illness
Linden for Grief and Sadness
In folklore, it’s believed that linden trees bring happiness and joy. There’s a bit of an urban legend that Hitler cut down all the linden trees in Germany just to spite the people. While I hate Hitler as much as the next person, this isn’t quite true. One particular bolevard, the “Unter den Linden” was lined with very large linden trees. It was a popular parade route, so Hitler had the linden trees cut down and replaced with flag poles for propaganda. The popular uprising against the loss of the linden trees that “brought happiness to the German people” was so great that Hitler actually relented and had the trees replanted.
Linden is still used in traditional remedies for emotional healing.
Linden Infusion for Grief and Sadness
From The Gift of Healing Herbs by Robin Rose Bennett and Rosemary Gladstar
The Earthwise Herbal: A Complete Guide to Old World Medicinal Plants by Matthew Wood
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