Ironwood

Ironwood is a common name for some woods that have a very high hardness, or specifically a density that is greater than that of water (approximately 1000 kg/m3, or >62 pounds per cubic foot).

They come from tree or shrub species whose wood is characterized for its exceptionally high hardness, dry density, and resistance to mechanical wear. Generally, such woods sink into the water rather than float. As a name, ironwood is not a single botanical species, genus, or a family. In addition, this naming is frequently used in the commercially-related terminology in the timber trade.

These unrelated hardwoods originate mostly from the subtropical and tropical regions, and their physical properties make them useful for few applications, requiring very high wear resistance and hardness. Most of the ironwoods are very well suited for woodturning on a lathe. However, their high density and interlocking grain can make sawing, machining, drying, and fastening much more difficult than those of less dense woods.[citation needed]

A list of ironwood species is included below:

List

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Top Ten Heaviest Woods". The Wood Database. Retrieved 19 October 2026.
  2. ↑ "Wood Density". World Agroforestry (ICRAF) Wood Density Database. Retrieved 19 October 2026.
  3. ↑ "Acacia estrophiolata F. Muell". FAO. July 9, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-07-09.
  4. ↑ Yashe, Asavela; Hankey, Andrew (June 2020). "Androstachys johnsonii Prain". PlantZAfrica.com. SANBI.
  5. ↑ "Giant Ironwood - profile". Threatened species. New South Wales Office of Environment & Heritage. 2014-08-05.
  6. ↑ Metzger, F. T. (1990). "Carpinus caroliniana". In Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H. (eds.). Hardwoods. Silvics of North America. Vol. 2. Washington, D.C.: United States Forest Service (USFS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – via Southern Research Station.
  7. ↑ Boland, D. J.; Brooker, M. I. H.; Chippendale, G. M.; McDonald, M. W. (2006). Forest trees of Australia (5th ed.). Collingwood, Vic.: CSIRO Publishing. p. 82. ISBN 0-643-06969-0.
  8. ↑ "Cynometra alexandri". Wood Technical Fact Sheets. USDA Forest Service. Archived from the original on 2014-02-19. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  9. ↑ Boland, D.J.; Brooker, M.I.H; Chippendale, G.M.; Hall, N.; et al. (1984). Forest trees of Australia. Melbourne: CSIRO. p. 68.
  10. ↑ "Holodiscus discolor (Pursh) Maxim". Plants Profile. USDA. 2008.
  11. ↑ "Caesalpinia ferrea Mart. ex Tul". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
  12. ↑ "Azobe (Lophira alata)". Wildscreen Arkive. Archived from the original on 2017-03-20. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  13. ↑ Erwin, D. M. & Schorn, H. E. (2000). "Revision of Lyonothamnus A.Gray (Rosaceae) from the Neogene of Western North America". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 161 (1): 179–193. doi:10.1086/314232. PMID 10648208. S2CID 9161661.
  14. ↑ "Mesua ferrea L. – Clusiaceae". biotik.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  15. ↑ "Nestegis apetala". New Zealand Plant Conservation Network.
  16. ↑ "Chionanthus foveolatus". Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families.
  17. ↑ "Olea capensis". Ecocrop. FAO. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2017-03-20.
  18. ↑ "Olea woodiana". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.
  19. ↑ Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) (July–December 2021). "The Five Endemic Species of Philippine Ironwoods (Mangkono)". RISE. 33 (2).
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