Help with this tree!

This tree we have been trying to get rid of for a few years now.. I'm not sure what it is... but its big and tall and all it does is drop leaves, pods, and tons of other things throughout the entire summer!!! Right over or outside patio area. And since we live in MA we value our outside time very much but I'm sick of constantly having to sweep up and worry about these things dropping into food or on people. It's time it goes, if I can kill it then the town will come and take it down. Its a nightmare... I have never seen a tree like this go through so many cycles of things falling and dropping. Besides it will bring the much needed light to the patio and all the flowers growing there. I cant take it anymore, does anyone know of a surefire way for me to get rid of it... anything?
Here is a photo of the leaves... I cant remember what it is called. Thank you very much for your help!!

Small-leaved Lime Tilia cordata or Common Lime Tilia × europaea

Resin

Not a Basswood, Tilia americana?

Was thinking the leaves looked too small for that, but true, it is hard to judge the size accurately so that could be possible.

Resin

That's what I was thinking, Linden tree. I just acquired a seedling, and now everyone's yelling at me that they're very messy. The leaves look like mine.

Those look like awfully short internodes and small leaves to be Tilia americana (American basswood). I'd go with Resin's measure of it; seems Lime-y.

Of course, jep2075 could quit teasing us and give us a real closeup. I couldn't quite count the cells surrounding each stomata.

What I REALLY mean is: a pic of the whole tree, and gradually closer shots generally get the question answered well. One really "in your face" closeup often hides the clearest ID features.

Is there reverb on this forum? Seems I hear an echo...

Common Lime is a bit messy, because it tends to attract very high aphid populations resulting in lots of honeydew on everything below. Silver Lime T. tomentosa has some problems with its nectar being narcotic to some species of bees (some bumble bees, but not to honey bees). But the other limes are OK, and very nice trees - widely considered 'clean' enough to make excellent street trees. Yes of course they drop leaves, but all trees drop leaves.

"and worry about these things dropping into food" – worth adding that lime is not poisonous (the young leaves can be eaten in salads, and the flowers can be used for herbal tea), so no need to be fearful about this.

Resin

I am absolutely amused by this thread thus far. It's unreal how much some of you know!! I'm very impressed. I did take other shots yesterday, but it was so drab and rainy that I was not sure I could get a good shot. I'll post the other 2 shots I took one here and one in the next. Hopefully this will confirm some of your thoughts. Anyhow it's my mom's tree and she has been trying to get rid of it for years. After speaking again with her today she explained it as ....well .."the period tree" lovely.... right? , I apologize but it really does have a monthly cycle where it drops the things after things. one of the things it drops are these yellow /green-ish pellets that you can literally hear from inside the house as they hit parked cars and everything on the outside patio. It also gets infested where the leaves are chewed to just about nothing... just gross. If you can agree on on the name of the tree that would be great.... even better would be a way for me to quickly kill it. It's time. I'm an avid gardner myself and would never want to kill a tree, but this one....

here is the other photo, if you need something better I'll see what I can get today, but its another crappy day!

Played photoshop with your last photo - shows that it is missing a substantial area of bark near the base. Looks like it got hit by a vehicle a few years ago. That makes the tree open to decay, and potentially dangerous in the longer term. That will be your best option of getting the city to remove it legitimately.

Sorry, but I don't think you should make any attempt to kill it off yourself - very likely to be illegal, and could result in a substantial fine or jail time if found out (and city authorities will investigate suspicious tree deaths!).

Resin

Resin,

I'm sorry, I forgot a very important part to the story! Just about 10 years ago my mom was chatting with our neighbor and somehow the topic of the darn tree came up and how much she hates it. Well with that out came the chainsaw and he put a nice cut in the tree hoping to kill it pretty quickly. Yeah, that was 10 years ago... the thing is still kicking! The neighbors been dead now for a few years so the obvious way to kill a tree is already blamed on him. The town sucks they came and said it was'nt dead enough., this was a few years ago. Oh, were you able to make an ID on the tree yet?

Many Thanks for your help!

I can't believe your municipality doesn't consider this a pretty immediate hazard, what with the bark damage and incredibly unbalanced crown that protrudes over the street.

I'd be almost willing to bet that lower branch over the road doesn't meet any standards for vehicular clearance.

I'm not one to just get rid of street trees, since they have to have quite a bit of gumption to live to any appreciable age in sites like the one illustrated. That said, sometimes the plant has got to go, so that a new one better suited (!) may inherit the site.

Best answer in this case: I suggest you (or your mom) write a formal letter to the officials of this town, stating that you request removal of this tree at this address. List your reasons:

•Obvious trunk/bark damage
•Unbalanced crown
•Very low branch/trunk creating traffic hazard with insufficient clearance
•Potential for catastrophic failure
•Imminent potential hazard to life/property

If you can send with the letter a photo of a nice elderly person (maybe mom) and/or small smiling innocent children seemingly unaware of the looming danger lurking overhead, your point may be eloquently made.

ID? I still agree that it's a Tilia cordata (Littleleaf Linden is the common name commonly assigned to it in the US). Fits with the little bombardier seeds, the creamy colored bracts shown in your second new pic, and the chewed up leaves every summer (that's from Japanese Beetle foraging, thank you very much).

That's going to be a tough place to start a new tree. There'll be a lot of old stump and root system that won't rot away for some time. You might think about what you expect to replace this with, especially if you really want shade, but you have said above that light may actually be welcome. Those overhead powerlines are not too conducive to taller trees, either.

V V,

Thank you most kindly for your insight and helping to ID this tree. Since I really do not know much about trees, you have explained to me what a serious situation this is. There are loads of children on the street and play and ride their bikes for hours by that tree. About 10 years ago my moms neighbor as I mentioned put a nice cut in to hopefully kill it. She didn't ask him to, he just did it on a whim one day thinking he was doing my mom a favor. Well from what she told me today was that the forestry department came by and had a fit about the cut in the tree. So my mom and him exchanged some choice words I'm sure, but she never said that she had done that to the tree and told them it was like that when she bought the house. Meanwhile it was the idiot next door. From that point on I guess the tree was blacklisted from being taken down due to the fact someone had illegally did this. Well that neighbor died about 3 years ago, so telling them who it was might benefit me? as well as your points about what a hazard it is? what do you think?

Thank you again for all your help!

Jep

I work for a local municipality that has to make these decisions every day. The list of items I provided you is a "who's who" of the kind of reasons that are given to us by individuals who want trees removed, as well as the kinds that we decide are reasons to have trees removed. Seeds dropping is not sufficient reason.

It really doesn't matter whether the former neighbor, you, your mom, your dog, an errant automobile, or a destructive insect caused damage to the tree. Objectively, if the tree ought to be removed, that is what ought to happen.

It comes down to someone presenting the information to the responsible party, and being persuasive about it. I'm not there to talk arboriculture with the municipal staff, and I can only speak to what I see in your pictures. It seems there is enough cause for the requested removal.

I agree, who cares how it all happened, the fact is that its extremely hazardous now. Every truck that comes down the block including waste managment takes a nice chunk out of this one spot, and not until today did I really take a close look at it. Then I was walking my dog around the block and came upon the tree from a different perpesctive and was totally shocked how it just hangs right over the street. They need to come deal with this immediately, before something really bad happens... thank you again .... for steering me in the right direction. I will get on them right away and also notify the new neighbors so they can get on them as well. Especially with children playing. Thanks again!