Desert Ironwood Fact Sheet

Yes desert ironwood can be found in the south western part of arizona.
Desert ironwood fact sheet. 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 is a plant found in the sonoran desert. The desert ironwood tree is the only member of the olneya genus. 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.
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. The ironwood tree only grows in the southwest s sonoran desert. The wood is one of the heaviest in the world.
The sonoran desert is located in southwestern arizona southern california and the northwestern part of mexico. Dried flower bud is anti dysenteric and used for dysentery with mucus. 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 genus.
It belongs to the fabaceae or pea family. It ranks among the most ecologically and economically important plant species in the region. Its name comes from the heavy dense heart wood the tree produces. Unlike other types of wood ironwood does not float because of its high density.
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. The roskruge and waterman mountains the silverbell west silverbell and on the fringe the sawtooth mountains. 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. I am from yuma arizona and this stuff is everywhere around here.
The ironwood is an essential. Ironwood tree olneya tesota. The leaves of the ironwood tree as well as its flowers mirror those of a sweet pea. 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. Arizona ironwood palo de hierro palo de fierro are some of names that the desert ironwood is known as.