Click on the images help you identify an ironwood.
Form
Height ranges from 20 to 40 feet, with a trunk diameter of 5 to 12 inches. Crown is generally rounded. Branches are long and slender, drooping at the ends. Sometimes called “musclewood” for its extremely tough wood and “hophornbeam” for its hop-like fruit.
Bark
Light gray-brown, furrowed and irregularly ridged.
Leaf
Leaves are simple, alternate on the stem, 2 to 4 inches long, generally oblong with a narrow tip. Margins are sharply doubly toothed. Color is dark, dull yellow-green above and light yellow-green below. Leaves turn dull yellow in autumn and often remain on the tree through winter.
Fruit (seed)
Fruit occurs in clusters (catkins) resembling those of the common hop vine. Each sack contains one flattened, ribbed, hard nutlet about 1/3 inch long and 1/8 inch wide. Fruit ripens in July and August.
Range
Found mostly in rich, moderately moist soils throughout the state but scattered or absent near the western border. Very shade-tolerant and slow-growing. Frequently forms an understory in mixed hardwood forests and is relatively short-lived. Useful as a replacement species after buckthorn removal.
Wood uses
Wood is very strong, hard, heavy, and durable, light brown with thick, pale sapwood. Used for fence posts, tool handles, mallets, and other small articles, as well as fuel. Attractive as an ornamental tree.