Interview with the medicinal plant expert and bestselling author on the "Medicinal Plant of the Year 2025"

"All parts of the linden tree are edible: leaf, flower, bud, seed and bark. Their density of vital substances and abundance of bioactive compounds and antioxidants are impressive. Thus, the linden tree provides a welcome balance to our often 'depleted' foods. As the 'Medicinal Plant of the Year 2025,' the tree of life not only surprises with its astonishing healing powers on a physical level, but also on a spiritual one: the linden tree alleviates anxieties, brightens the mood, and helps with attention deficit and sleep disorders." Medicinal plant expert Barbara Simonsohn, author of the compact guide "The Linden Tree – Tree of Healing and Harmony," describes the numerous applications and healing effects of the "cult tree," whose plant parts she also enjoys using for her own health.

Your latest compact guide is dedicated to the linden tree, which has been considered a tree of healing and harmony for centuries. Even before the oak, the linden tree is the most celebrated tree in Germany, and the most frequently mentioned and depicted in names, images, and coats of arms. What examples do you find for this in our cultural heritage, and what remains of it today?

Barbara Simonsohn: For one, there are about 1000 village and city names in which the linden tree is immortalized, such as Lindau on Lake Constance. Then you have certainly been to an inn "Zur Linde" (To the Linden Tree). The village linden tree used to be the center of village life. People danced, celebrated, and got married under it. Even today, there are dance linden trees, under and even within which our ancestors used to dance, and this custom is now making a comeback. In the past, justice was also administered under the Thing- or court linden trees, because it was hoped that under the tree, in which the spirit of the goddess of love Freya was suspected, the judgments would be milder, i.e., "linder" (more lenient). The linden tree was and is considered a tree of peace and was planted in many places for occasions such as peace treaties or reunification. Many monasteries have "Marienlinden" (Mary's linden trees); in earlier times, most of them were "Freyalinden" (Freya's linden trees), but in the course of Christianization, pagan tree cult was a thorn in the side of the church, and so this tree of love was rededicated to the tree of Mother Mary. The linden tree is still a cult, legend, and myth tree and has long since conquered the top spot as a tree of life in the hearts of the people.

Traditionally, we humans feel a strong emotional connection to the linden tree. It is considered a tree of love, peace, and home, and in earlier times served, among other things, as a dance and court linden tree. A linden tree could be found in almost every village square, as a meeting place and the center of community life.

The linden tree is not only a particularly beautiful deciduous tree, but according to you, due to its diverse healing properties, it is "perfect for our modern world." What do you mean by that, and what ailments of our time does it promise to relieve?

Barbara Simonsohn: The linden tree appears like a gift from heaven for people of today. All its parts are edible: leaf, flower, bud, seed, and bark. Its density of vital substances and abundance of bioactive compounds such as polyphenols are impressive. Foodstuffs contain fewer and fewer vital substances due to incorrect breeding goals, depleted soils, and long transport routes. The linden tree provides a welcome balance here. The linden tree helps with high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar levels, and lack of energy. What surprised me myself was that the "Medicinal Plant of the Year" also has such a helpful effect on the emotional level. It alleviates anxieties, acts as a mood enhancer, helps with attention deficit disorder, nervousness, melancholy, worries, sadness, and sleep disorders.

Your books are known not only for listing traditional folk medicine applications but also for citing the latest scientific findings. Which studies on the effects of linden ingredients particularly impressed you?

Barbara Simonsohn: The anxiety-relieving and mood-lifting effects of linden are well-documented. Flavonoids in linden leaves, such as quercetin, alleviate depressive moods. Glycoside derivatives also act on the central nervous system as a natural antidepressant. Linden buds promote the formation of GABA, a neurotransmitter. Linden can prevent strokes and alleviate symptoms. Numerous studies confirm the anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects of linden extracts; they even work against multi-resistant hospital germs, as well as against pathogenic viruses and fungi like Candida albicans. Regarding cancer, there have only been laboratory tests so far, but these showed that the polyphenols in linden are active against all types of human cancer cells.

The healing properties of the linden tree – whether in its flowers, leaves, buds, bark, or seeds – seem perfectly suited for our modern world, where more and more people suffer from sleep and anxiety disorders, nervousness, and overwhelm. The "Medicinal Plant of the Year 2025" demonstrably alleviates all these problems and many more.

The ingredients of the linden tree have particularly antioxidant properties. Which parts of the plant are particularly effective here, and how do they differ from other medicinal plants with comparable properties?

Barbara Simonsohn: Indeed, all parts of the linden tree contain numerous antioxidant substances; these antioxidants protect against free radicals, which are involved in the development of almost every disease and promote premature aging processes. The flowers contain farnesol, glycosides, and phenolic acids, the leaves mainly linarin, tannic acids, and resin acids, the seeds or fruits flavonoids and vitamin E, the tasty buds primarily anthocyanins and sesquiterpenes, and in the linden wood mainly steroids and triterpenes. Even the linden bast has a high antioxidant potential.

In folk and home medicine, linden blossom tea is used for colds and to calm nerves. What other uses and applications are there for the linden tree?

Barbara Simonsohn: Linden blossom tea is not only effective against high fever and colds, but also as a side-effect-free sleep aid and for iron deficiency. Linden charcoal helps with diarrhea, intestinal inflammation, and heavy metal exposure, and externally with bad breath and gum inflammation. A cool compress made from linden blossom or leaf tea soothes the skin with sunburn and insect bites. Linden bark and linden leaves, applied externally, act as a wound healing agent. Linden-based creams, which are easy to make yourself, counteract pimples and wrinkles. Strongly brewed linden blossom tea gives shiny hair. Linden buds, leaves, and blossoms calm the heart and nerves. Linden extracts lower high blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity.

Flowers, leaves, and other parts of the tree are edible and completely non-toxic, and preparation and application can be easily done at home. What do you recommend to interested readers for getting started, and what should definitely be kept in mind?

Barbara Simonsohn: The linden tree has something to offer in every season. In winter and spring, you can harvest the buds as power food, in spring the young leaves for a delicious wild herb salad, in summer the blossoms for teas and ointments, and in autumn the delicious seeds, which taste great in muesli or salads. Green fresh leaves grow back from the trunk and roots until frost and are suitable for pestos, salads, and smoothies. Anyone can easily make a dietary supplement from linden leaves: Dry linden leaves at raw food temperature, pulverize as needed in a coffee grinder. Add a teaspoon to a smoothie or salad or dissolve in water in a shaker and drink. When jogging, I often pick linden leaves or buds and eat them on the spot. In my opinion, there's nothing to consider, because all parts of the tree are completely non-toxic. Besides, they all taste good, leaves, flowers, buds, and seeds.

Link Recommendations:
Further information on the compact guide "The Linden Tree" →
More about the author Barbara Simonsohn →
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