ironwood

1 handsome East Indian evergreen tree often planted as an ornamental for its fragrant white flowers that yield a perfume; source of very heavy hardwood used for railroad ties [syn: rose chestnut, ironwood tree, Mesua ferrea]

2 exceptionally tough or hard wood of any of a number of ironwood trees

3 a small slow-growing deciduous tree of northern Iran having a low domed shape [syn: iron tree, iron-tree, ironwood tree]

4 medium-sized hop hornbeam of eastern North America [syn: Eastern hop hornbeam, ironwood tree, Ostrya virginiana]

English

Etymology

From iron (for its toughness) + wood

Noun

1. Any of a number of tree species known for having a particularly solid wood.
2. The wood of any ironwood tree.

Hyponyms

• Acacia estrophiolata - Southern ironwood
• Androstachys johnsonii – Lebombo ironwood
• Carpinus caroliniana – American hornbeam
• Casuarina equisetifolia – Common ironwood (Australia)
• Chionanthus foveolatus – Pock ironwood (South Africa)
• Choricarpia subargentea - Giant ironwood
• Copaifera spp. - Diesel Tree, Kerosene Tree, Kupa'y, Cabismo or Copaúva
• Erythrophleum chlorostachys Cooktown ironwood (Australia)
• Eusideroxylon zwageri - Borneo ironwood
• Guaiacum officinale – Lignum vitae
• Guaiacum sanctum – Holywood
• Holodiscus discolor - Creambrush
• Hopea odorata - White thingan, Ceylon or Malabar ironwood
• Krugiodendron ferreum – Black Ironwood
• Lyonothamnus floribundus – Lyon tree
• Lyonothamnus lyonii – Catalina ironwood
• Mesua ferrea – Rose chestnut or Ceylon ironwood
• Nestegis apetala - Coastal maire, Broad-leaved maire or Ironwood
• Olea spp. – Various olive trees
• Olneya tesota – Desert ironwood
• Ostrya virginiana – Hop hornbeam
• Parrotia persica – Persian ironwood
• Tabebuia serratifolia – Yellow poui

Ironwood may refer to:

Plants

Any particular wood that has a reputation for hardness. Usage of the name may (or may not) include the tree that yields this wood. Species involved include:

• Acacia estrophiolata - Southern ironwood
• Androstachys johnsonii – Lebombo ironwood
• Carpinus caroliniana – American hornbeam
• Casuarina equisetifolia – Common ironwood from Australia
• Casuarinaceae (she-oaks) in general
• Chionanthus foveolatus – Pock ironwood from South Africa
• Choricarpia subargentea - Giant ironwood
• Copaifera spp. - Diesel Tree, Kerosene Tree, Kupa'y, Cabismo or Copaúva
• Erythrophleum chlorostachys Cooktown ironwood from Australia.
• Eusideroxylon zwageri - Borneo ironwood
• Guaiacum officinale – Lignum vitae
• Guaiacum sanctum – Holywood
• Holodiscus discolor - Creambrush
• Hopea odorata - White thingan, Ceylon or Malabar ironwood
• Krugiodendron ferreum – Black Ironwood
• Lyonothamnus floribundus – Lyon tree
• Lyonothamnus lyonii – Catalina ironwood
• Mesua ferrea – Rose chestnut or Ceylon ironwood
• Nestegis apetala - Coastal maire, Broad-leaved maire or Ironwood
• Olea spp. – Various olive trees
• Olneya tesota – Desert ironwood
• Ostrya virginiana – Hop hornbeam
• Parrotia persica – Persian ironwood
• Tabebuia serratifolia – Yellow poui

Places

In the United States:

• Ironwood High School in Glendale, Arizona
• Ironwood, Michigan, a city in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan
• Ironwood Township, Michigan, north of the city
• Ironwood Ridge High School in Tucson, Arizona

Fictional places:

• Ironwood County, the fictional creation of American author John Schreiber
• Ironwood (Norse mythology), a forest in Norse mythology

Other

• Ironwood (comics), erotic comics by Bill Willingham published in the United States by Eros Comicx

See also

Ironbark