Large-leaved lime (Italia platyphyllos), Velké Opatovice, the Czech Republic When Czechoslovakia was founded in 1918, people in Velké Opatovice planted 16 lime trees of liberty: symbols of independence, democracy and the end of the first world war. One was the lime tree in Zádvoří, planted by, Jan Pospíšil, a local patriot and pacifist. Only his tree has survived until today in the middle of the crossroad of five streets. Both the German and Red Army marched around the lime at the end of second world war, and the lime became a symbol of Czech freedom and resilience

Photograph: Marek Olbrzymek/European Tree of the Year