Ironwood

Article By:

Graves, Arthur H. Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut.

Davis, Kenneth P. School of Forestry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.

Last reviewed:January 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.353600

The name given to any of at least 10 kinds of tree in the United States. Because of uncertainty as to just which tree is indicated, the name ironwood has been abandoned in the checklist of the native and naturalized trees of the United States. Probably the best known of the 10 is the American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana). Some of the others are Ostrya virginiana, eastern hophornbeam [Janka hardness: 1860 lb-force (844 kg-force); density: 49 lb/ft³ (785 kg/m³)]; Bumelia lycioides, buckthorn bumelia; B. tenax, tough bumelia; Cliftonia monophylla, buckwheat tree; and Cyrilla racemiflora, swamp cyrilla or swamp ironwood. All of these species, except Ostrya, are restricted to the southeastern United States. Others commonly called ironwood include Eugenia confusa, redberry eugenia of southern Florida and the Florida Keys; Exothea paniculata, butterbough of southern Florida; and Ostrya knowltonii, Knowlton hophornbeam of the southwestern United States. Leadwood (Krugiodendron ferreum), a native of southern Florida, has the highest specific gravity of all woods native to the United States and is also known as black ironwood. See also: Forest and forestry; Hophornbeam; Hornbeam; Tree

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