Desert Ironwood Fact Sheet

Arizona ironwood palo de hierro palo de fierro genus.

Desert ironwood fact sheet.

The ironwood tree only grows in the southwest s sonoran desert. I am from yuma arizona and this stuff is everywhere around here. Many species of sonoran wildlife depend on it for survival. The sonoran desert is located in southwestern arizona southern california and the northwestern part of mexico.

Here in the landscapes of the desert southwest ironwood serves as an excellent evergreen screen against unsightly views and provides cooling shade as it grows. It is one of the biggest and oldest plants growing to heights of 45 feet and persisting in the desert heat for as long as 1 200 years. Unlike other types of wood ironwood does not float because of its high density. The ironwood is an essential.

The desert ironwood tree is the only member of the olneya genus. Five desert mountain ranges define the monument. The desert ironwood only grows in the washes and valleys of the sonoran desert below 2 500 foot elevation. The desert ironwood tree grows 20 to 50 feet tall making it the tallest tree in the sonoran desert.

Only pieces of wood that have fallen off of the remaining tree can be picked up and taken and you may not drag large pieces of wood through the desert or uproot a tree. It is however protected. This arizona native is known around the world for its dense and heavy wood that is highly valued as quality firewood and as an exceptional woodworking material. Arizona ironwood palo de hierro palo de fierro are some of names that the desert ironwood is known as.

Its name comes from the heavy dense heart wood the tree produces. Ferrea is a hot dry digestive and good for fever foul breath sweats scabies skin eruptions itching small tumors headache blood and heart problems sore throat cough hiccough vomiting excessive thirst dysentery and bleeding piles. The roskruge and waterman mountains the silverbell west silverbell and on the fringe the sawtooth mountains. The wood is one of the heaviest in the world.

It belongs to the fabaceae or pea family. Yes desert ironwood can be found in the south western part of arizona. Ironwood forest national monument protects a prime example of the sonoran desert with 128 917 acres of mountains and hills scattered amongst broad species rich valleys. Dried flower bud is anti dysenteric and used for dysentery with mucus.

The leaves of the ironwood tree as well as its flowers mirror those of a sweet pea. It ranks among the most ecologically and economically important plant species in the region.