Desert Ironwood Fact Sheet

The wood is one of the heaviest in the world.

Desert ironwood fact sheet.

It belongs to the fabaceae or pea family. Ironwood tree olneya tesota. Many species of sonoran wildlife depend on it for survival. 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.

The ironwood tree only grows in the southwest s sonoran desert. Yes desert ironwood can be found in the south western part of arizona. The desert ironwood tree grows 20 to 50 feet tall making it the tallest tree in the sonoran desert. Arizona ironwood palo de hierro palo de fierro genus.

Its name comes from the heavy dense heart wood the tree produces. It is however protected. The tree known in the u s mexico borderlands as desert ironwood or palo fierro olneya tesota is one of many woody legumes found in washes and hillside drainages in the sonoran desert. The sonoran desert is located in southwestern arizona southern california and the northwestern part of mexico.

It ranks among the most ecologically and economically important plant species in the region. 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. Dried flower bud is anti dysenteric and used for dysentery with mucus. I am from yuma arizona and this stuff is everywhere around here.

The ironwood is an essential. 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. The desert ironwood tree is the only member of the olneya genus. 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.

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. 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. Five desert mountain ranges define the monument. Unlike other types of wood ironwood does not float because of its high density.

The leaves of the ironwood tree as well as its flowers mirror those of a sweet pea. The roskruge and waterman mountains the silverbell west silverbell and on the fringe the sawtooth mountains.