Name That Tree

[nekosensei]

I've also posted this question to Twitter.

On my daily walk, I keep passing a very beautiful tree whose leaves are green on top and silver on the bottom. The leaves are also slightly curvy, giving the tree an almost scalloped look. Today, I grabbed one of the leaves and took a picture of it when I got home. I've been admiring this tree for months, but still have no idea what kind of tree it is. Any tree huggers out there who have any idea what this is?

Here are the pictures:
Picture 1
Picture 2

Maybe I should have whipped out my iPhone and taken a picture of the tree itself, huh?

Comments

[white-rabbit-1.livejournal.com]

I think it's an Aspen of some sort.

[ladyfox7oaks.livejournal.com]

Lemme guess. The slightest breeze makes it dance and shift colors as all those leaves move and change from the green side to the silver? Yep, That would be a variety of Aspen. :)
http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=s&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=aspen+leaves&aq=4&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=Aspen+&gs_rfai=

[fuzzyscribble.livejournal.com]

Aspen. Had one out in front of the house when I was growing up.

leaf

[forestdruid.livejournal.com]

Nope, not an aspen. Sorry about the delay in replying here... I have not read LJ in a while. The tree you are interested in is called a basswood. It is quite a common suburban tree, or at least it was in the 50s, 60's and 70's. They don't plant them much any more. The leaf is similar to the linden, but can be most easily picked out because the basswood leaves are roughly 2x as big. The leaf appears to be about 4 inches across in the one photo. The dead give away for these two species (and elms too, I guess) are the uneven 'shoulders' of the leaf. Note the leaf shape near the petiole.

Re: leaf

[nekosensei.livejournal.com]

You know, I didn't think it was an aspen. It didn't look right. It was a big tree and it didn't have a white trunk. You're right. It's definitely a basswood tree.