Heart-shaped leaves decorate trees tastefully. A few specimens are found in Central Europe and are easily identified by the characteristics of their leaves. The following are 14 large, heart-leaved tree species/cultivars with the most important identifying features.
In a nutshell
- heart-shaped leaves sometimes clearly visible, sometimes indicated
- heart-leaved trees all with blossoms
- mostly summer flowering
- large leaves only on tall trees
Trees with heart-shaped leaves from A to F
American Lime (Tilia americana)
Source: Herman, DE, et al. 1996. North Dakota tree handbook. USDA NRCS ND State Soil Conservation Committee; NDSU Extension and Western Area Power Administration, Bismarck. Courtesy of ND State Soil Conservation Committee. Provided by USDA NRCS ND State Office. United States, ND., Tilia americana NRCS-2, edited from Plantopedia, CC0 1.0
- Growth: expansive, upright, loose
- Growth height: 20 to 30 meters
- flower: yellow; July; cymes; strongly scented
- leaves: heart-shaped; up to 20 centimeters long and wide; serrated leaf edge; stem five centimeters; yellow autumn colour
- Special features: stands on sandy-clay soil; forms nutty, inedible fruits
American Lime 'Nova' / Giant-leaved American Lime ('Tilia americana 'Nova')
- Growth: expansive, upright, loose
- Growth height: up to 25 meters
- Flowers: yellow in June; yellow-green cymes attached in July; strongly scented
- leaves: oval; heart-shaped leaves; up to 20 centimeters long and wide; serrated leaf edge; stem to seven centimeters; yellow-brown autumn colour
- Special features: stands on sandy-clay soil; forms nutty, inedible fruits; greenish bark - changing to gray-black with age; only American linden cultivar with longer heart leaves; often seen as a park tree
Tree hazel / Turkish hazel (Corylus colurna)
Source: Martinus KE, Corylus colurna WOR - 2022-07-23 - 034b, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Growth: cone-shaped broad stature; slow growing
- Growth height: between 12 and 20 meters
- flower: simple; green yellow; up to ten centimeters tall: from February to March
- broad, ovoid to heart-shaped leaves with autumn colors; double sawn; up to twelve inches long
- Special features: ideal street tree; edible hard nuts; tolerates strong heat; pretty tough
Tip: The appearance of the leaves is the best way of identifying trees. Every tree has at least one different characteristic, but this is where you should look closely. The other distinguishing features such as flower and growth form make identification even easier.
Chinese Bluebell Tree / Emperor Tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
- Growth: stiff shoot growth; loose and wide; fast growing
- Growth height: between eight and 15 meters
- flower: in panicles; blue-violet; from April to May
- very large heart-shaped leaves with brownish autumn colour; up to 30 centimetres: arranged opposite; hairy
- Special features: hardy to minus 17.8 degrees; forms inedible nutlets; widespread variety "Paulownia imperialis"
G to R
Yellow trumpet tree / small-flowered trumpet tree (Catalpa ovata)
- growth: sprawling; upright
- Growth height: between twelve and 30 meters (just as wide)
- flower: white; cymes; June to July; intensely scented
- Leaves: Heart-shaped acuminate leaves; autumn coloring
- Special features: fruit pods up to 30 centimeters long; grey-brown bark; Longitudinal cracks in bark on older trees
Notice: The Trumpet Tree contains Catalpin. This is a toxin found in all parts of the plant except the seeds. Although the content is low, physical contact can lead to allergic skin reactions.
Common trumpet tree (Catalpa bignonioides)
- Growth: rounded, spherical; wide
- Growth height: between ten and 15 meters
- flower: white; paniculate; from June to July; intensely scented
- leaves: heart-shaped; short haired; up to 20 centimeters tall; light green leaf veins; smooth leaf margin; long stems; alternate; light yellow autumn colour
- Special features: late budding; bean-like fruits up to 35 centimeters in size; blooms profusely; only hardy when old
Henry's Lime / Asiatic Lime (Tilia henryana)
- Growth: heavily branched; crown oval; towering; slow growing
- Growth height: between eight and twelve meters
- Flower: cyme-shaped; creamy yellow; White; up to five centimeters in size; from early August to mid/late September
- ovoid to heart-shaped leaves; light green; conspicuous teeth; hairy; alternate red or yellow stem perpendicular to the leaf
- Special features: spherical nutlets; very bee friendly; blooms profusely; hardy to 19 degrees Celsius
Dutch Lime (Tilia x europaea)
- growth: sprawling; upright
- Growth height: between 25 and 40 meters
- flower: yellowish-white; cyme-shaped; from June to July; strongly scented
- leaf: toothed; acuminate, cordate; light to medium green; up to twelve inches tall
- Special features: nectar or pollen plant; bee-friendly woody plant; brown inedible nuts; prefers loamy-gravelly soil
Crimean lime (Tilia x Euchlora)
- Growth: conical; upright
- Growth height: between 15 and 20 meters
- Flower: cyme-shaped; yellow; from July to August
- heart-shaped; up to ten centimeters tall; sharply serrated edge; upper surface dark green, glossy; underside dull green; yellow autumn colour
- Features: Hybrid; bee-friendly nectar tree; prefers growing on sandy-loamy soil
S to Z
Black alder (Alnus glutinosa)
- Growth: straight stem to crown; light, pyramidal crown growth
- Growth height: between 25 and 30 meters
- Flower: cyme-shaped; Brown; from March to April;
- Leaves: leaf blades four to nine centimeters long; in front usually edging or slightly tapering to the shape of a heart; dark green top; yellow hairs on underside; brown autumn colour
- Special features: brownish-green bark changes to grey-brown with age; old trees often have oblong or square bark cracks; deciduous; "kitten education"; side shoots without buds; very frost hardy
Silver linden (Tilia tomentosa)
Source: Wilhelm Zimmerling PAR, Ruhland, Am Wiesengrund 11, silver linden, leaves, late spring, 02, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Growth: upright; fast growing
- Growth height: between 20 and 30 meters
- flower: hermaphrodite; cymes seven to ten centimeters long; yellow; from June to August (July "high season"); strongly scented
- Leaves: distinctly heart-shaped leaves; up to ten centimeters in size; sharply serrated leaf margins; dark green top of leaf; white, slightly felty underside; alternate
- Special features: summer green; often used as a privacy screen; greenish spherical nuts; felty young shoots; brown hairy buds; shallow furrows in gray-green bark; prefers sunny locations
Small-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos)
- Growth: upright; sweeping
- Growth height: between 30 and 40 meters
- flower: yellow; cymes; from June to July; strongly scented
- obliquely shaped heart leaf: 10 to 15 centimeters in size; slightly wavy; sawn; stem three to seven centimeters long; dark green top; underside lighter; hairy all over; yellow autumn colour
- Special features: one of the most beautiful native deciduous trees; very bee friendly; brown nut fruits; self seeding
Handkerchief tree / dove tree (Davidia involucrata var. vilmoriniana)
- Growth: shrubby-tree-like; relaxed; heavily branched; oval crown
- growth height: between six and eight meters; sometimes up to 20 meters in optimal conditions
- Flower: white bracts hanging down like handkerchiefs; from May to June
- leaves: fresh green; underside of leaf shiny light green to greyish; wide ovoid with heart-shaped base; roughly toothed to serrate; eight to 14 centimeters in length; between seven and twelve centimeters wide; alternate growth; red-brown autumn color; reddish petioles five inches long
- Special features: hardy down to minus 20 degrees Celsius; Asian origin; rare tree; very floriferous; scaly, grey-brown bark; high decorative value
Winter linden / stone linden (Tilia cordata)
Source: AnRo0002, 20140408Tilia cordata1, edited from Plantopedia, CC0 1.0
- Growth: upright; expansive wide conical crown
- Growth height: between twelve and 30 meters (can also be wide)
- Flowers: white cymes; late June to July; intensely scented
- Leaves: Heart-shaped acuminate leaves; six to eight inches tall; dark green; yellow-green autumn colour
- Special features: well-known yard, street and park trees; can live for several hundred years; sweet-scented flowers
Notice: Small-leaved lime is easily confused with small-leaved lime. They can be distinguished from each other by the leaves, because those of the small-leaved lime are completely hairless and those of the small-leaved lime are completely hairy.
frequently asked Questions
What to look for in trees with large heart-shaped leaves?Trees with large leaves cast significantly larger shadows than specimens with smaller leaves. The shape of the leaf is irrelevant. Therefore, always make sure that sun-seeking plant neighbors and, if necessary, lawn are far enough away from the shaded areas. In addition, the large leaf surfaces can lead to increased water evaporation. Trees that do not cope well with drought should therefore be watered noticeably more frequently during the summer months.
Are there also shrubs with heart-shaped leaves?Heart-shaped leaves are not uncommon and can be found on other types of plants, including shrubs. These include, for example, the spiked hazel (Corylopsis spicata), poor-flowered hazel (Corylopsis pauciflora), bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) and the Japanese pearltail (Stachyurus praecox) with oval to heart-shaped leaves.
Which trees have small heart-shaped leaves?One of the best known is the Chinese Judas tree (Cercis chinensis). Its foliage reaches a size between seven and twelve centimeters. Overall, however, they are more compact, which is why this tree is not named in the above list.
Why are other shapes often found between heart-shaped leaves?As a rule, the heart shape determines the entire foliage pattern. Developmental disorders can only occur due to different lighting conditions and nutrient supplies. For example, if too little light reaches some leaves, the shape is often less pronounced. This sometimes results in straight lines where there should actually be a curve. However, these are exceptional cases, which do not change the leaf shape typical of the tree.