Desert Ironwood Fact Sheet

Unlike other types of wood ironwood does not float because of its high density.

Desert ironwood fact sheet.

It is however protected. 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. Its name comes from the heavy dense heart wood the tree produces. The wood is one of the heaviest in the world.

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. 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 desert ironwood only grows in the washes and valleys of the sonoran desert below 2 500 foot elevation. 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.

Many species of sonoran wildlife depend on it for survival. It ranks among the most ecologically and economically important plant species in the region. The desert ironwood is a plant found in the sonoran desert. 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 sonoran desert is located in southwestern arizona southern california and the northwestern part of mexico. Five desert mountain ranges define the monument. 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. Arizona ironwood palo de hierro palo de fierro genus.

The roskruge and waterman mountains the silverbell west silverbell and on the fringe the sawtooth mountains. I am from yuma arizona and this stuff is everywhere around here. The desert ironwood tree is the only member of the olneya genus. The leaves of the ironwood tree as well as its flowers mirror those of a sweet pea.

The desert ironwood tree grows 20 to 50 feet tall making it the tallest tree in the sonoran desert. It belongs to the fabaceae or pea family. Arizona ironwood palo de hierro palo de fierro are some of names that the desert ironwood is known as. The ironwood is an essential.

The ironwood tree only grows in the southwest s sonoran desert. Ironwood tree olneya tesota.