Ironwood

Leaves

Form

• Deciduous, alternate, simple
• Arranged in 2 rows along the twigs, successively larger toward the tip of the shoot
• Elliptic, tapering from the middle to a long sharp tip
• Usually widest near the middle
• Base narrowly rounded or indented
• Lower surface hairy
• Texture soft
• Veins straight, parallel

Length

• 7–12 cm

Colour

• Upper and lower surface dark yellowish-green

Autumn colour

• Dull yellow

Margin

• Each vein ends in a sharp tooth, with somewhat smaller intervening teeth
• A branch vein may also end in a tooth

Buds

Form

• Ovoid, pointed
• Spreading from the twig, slightly hairy
• Several scales, striated, not in regular rows
• No true terminal bud
• Leaf scars with 3 vein scars

Length

• 3–4 mm

Colour

• Greenish-brown

Twigs

Form

• Slender, not as wide as the buds

Colour

• Dark reddish-brown

Flowers

Form

• Pollen flowers in drooping catkins, in groups of 2 or 3 at the tip of twigs
• Visible but short, stiff, erect in winter
• Seed flowers in elongated clusters (racemes) at the tip of new leafy shoots
• Pollination takes place as the leaves begin to appear

Length

• Pollen flowers 15–50 mm

Structure

• Monoecious

Fruits

Form

• Small flattened nut enclosed in an inflated sac covered with stiff hairs
• In clusters at the tip of a short drooping axis
• Sacs fall during winter, leaving the axis attached to the end of the twig

Length

• Nut 5–8 mm
• Sac about 15 mm

Bark

Form

• Short, narrow, longitudinal strips, loose at both ends
• Easily rubbed off

Colour

• Greyish-brown

Wood

Texture

• Heavy, very hard, tough

Colour

• Light brown

Morphology

• The densest Canadian wood; close-grained
• Diffuse-porous; pores barely visible to the naked eye
• Rays and annual rings indistinct

Uses

• Tool handles

Size

Height

• To 12 m

Diameter

• To 25 cm

Tree form

Forest-grown

Trunk

• Upright, distinct almost to the top of the tree

Crown

• Wide-spreading, with long slender branches

Habitat

Site

• Well-drained slopes and ridges

Light tolerance

• Very shade-tolerant

Associated species

• An understory tree in broadleaf forests