What is Ironwood?

[arojay]

I have heard people talk about Ironwood but don't know if it is a species or if it even exists.  Seems to me that there is a Forum member by that handle, but I'm sure that he isn't what(who) these folks were talking about.  Can anyone shed a little light on Ironwood?

[Ironwood]

In North America there are numerous trees called "Ironwood", here in the East it is usually the American Hornbeam, which is in the beech family (also goes by musclewood, and several other slang) heavy dense, understory tree (not nearly as dense and substantial as western Desert Ironwood).

         Ironwood

[nas]

Round here Ironwood is usually Hop-Hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), but sometimes American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) more commonly called Blue Beech around here.

[Ironwood]

I have never heard of Eastern Hop Hornbeam called Ironwood, at least not in these parts. It is SOOO different of a tree from the American Hornbeam. Could never be confused. Second pic, the bark is peeled.

          Ironwood (Musclewood, Blue Beech, American Hornbeam)

[Chuck White]

In this area there is a tree that generally doesn't get very big in diameter.
The bark resembles ash and some refer to it as "iron wood" and some call it "hard hack"!
It has a leaf that resembles elm!
There is also the tree referred to earlier as "blue beach", which is also called "muscle wood"!
I'm thinking that the "iron wood" might be in the Ash family!

[Ironwood]

I believe American Hornbeam peters out (northern boundry) in mid state NY, here in Western PA, it gets 12" and not much bigger. I suppose there are pockets of American Hornbean further north, but never seen it in the Daks, so I am sure it must terminate as around the Lake Onterio area.

                   Ironwood

[Ron Scott]

Yes ironwood is a recognized tree species as stated above.

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/carpinus/caroliniana.htm

[Ironwood]

Ditto, Ironwood

[SwampDonkey]

Round here Ironwood is usually Hop-Hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), but sometimes American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) more commonly called Blue Beech around here.

I have never heard of Eastern Hop Hornbeam called Ironwood, at least not in these parts.

Yeah, I know the confusion. But in eastern Canadian forestry schools we call Ostrya virginiana ironwood or eastern hophornbeam. Local old timers and farmers call it hornbeam. Just to be different I suppose, as we also call box elder a Manitoba maple and striped maple is called moosewood. ;D

http://www.unb.ca/courses/for1000/Labs/FLab02.pdf

http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/subsite/mx-212/ironwood

What we call ironwood here is in the birch family and very young trees can be confused with yellow birch by their bark.

[LeeB]

I don't know what tree species it is, but I believe there is also an African tree called ironwood.

[arojay]

Thanks for the replies.  Now as to the name, is it hard to work with or is there some other reason for the name?  The chair is a nice looking piece.

[SwampDonkey]

I think the name is related to the fact that either is a very dense hardwood for the region they are found. Like up here in Maritimes, O. virginiana is our densest hardwood. It makes great axe handles and sled runners. Mom's uncle make all his tool handles by hand from local ironwood/eastern hop-hornbeam.

It is very shade tolerant and can take over the understory of a hardwood stand used for firewood or sugar bush if beech is not as prominent. American Beech (not blue beech referred to as another ironwood) will also regenerate thick on the same site and kill out maple and yellow birch regen. But, it has to be a prominent component that usually gets cut for firewood. The remaining maple can't regenerate as well in shade as beech, it usually gets a couple feet tall and stagnates if not released. A sugar maple stand is usually like a park underneath until you start doing some harvesting.

[nas]

I use Eastern Hop Hornbeam to make handle for my tools.  Only have to do it once after the store bought one breaks.  My Uncle makes chess boards and uses it for the white squares.

[woodtroll]

Southern Illinois is the same as Swamp Donkey's definition. Hop hornbeam - ironwood, blue beech - muscle wood. Same problem with the hornbeam dominating an understory, just change the maple to oak. Prescribe fire can help some if they are young enough.

[Corley5]

Eastern Hophornbeam=ironwood in N. Michigan.  Ruffed Grouse bud on them in the winter so they have some value for wildlife.  Hophornbeam firewood is near the top of the charts for BTU content.  Trees up to 16"DBH are around but usually any much over 8" are hollow.  We don't have blue beech/muscle wood up here.

[ID4ster]

In the southern tier of NY both the American hornbeam (C. caroliniana) and the Eastern hop hornbeam (O. virginiana) are known as ironwood. The eastern hop hornbeam was sometimes referred to as the "wagon axle tree" since some of the stems were straight enough and hard enough to serve as a wagon axle. I know of one guy that was making wooden mauls for timber framing and such out of the eastern hop hornbeam. He would cut a suitable size tree into sections and then bore out an "eye" and put in an axe handle. As the hop hornbeam dried it would tighten up around the handle and make a good mallet. He was doing that to show that trees we consider a "weed" could be put to good use. He also mentioned one time that he sometimes would put a section on a lath and turn it to make a better mallet head. He did say that it had to be turned green though since it was too difficult to turn after it had cured. Why that is so I don't know.

[John Mc]

Here in the Champlain Valley foothills of the Green Mountains in Vermont, "Hardhack" seems to be the common term for "Eastern Hophornbeam". It's also referred to as "Ironwood" or "American Hophornbeam. Bark is light brown and in long thin scaly strips or ridges. The bark looks a little "shaggy" (one friend thought it was a small shagbark hickory, until I showed him a real shagbark). Leaves are yellow-green when viewed from above, turn yellow in the fall. It makes excellent firewood. It's unusual to find them more than 6 or 7" DBH around here, though I've seen some up to 10". The "hop" part of it's name refers to the fact that it's fruit clusters resemble the hops used in making beer.

"American Hornbeam" (NOT "hophornbeam") is also referred to as "Blue Beech" or "Water Beech". The bark on this is blue-gray and smooth. Leaves are dull dark blue-green viewed from above. Turns orange/red in fall. It's really a member of the birch family. the name "Blue Beech" probably came about because it's bark resembles beech.

Both are hard, tough wood. Both tend to be smaller, understory trees in hardwood forests. Both are good wildlife food sources (deer, grouse, pheasants, etc.)

[olcowhand]

"Rekindling" this older thread, to generate ideas for using Eastern Hophornbeam (Ironwood). I have loved it every time I harvest one for firewood, but I recently felled one that is a little bigger (~10" DBH), and there is a 14" one next to trail I'm widening. I saved the butt log of the smaller one for the Sawmill, and looking for your experience with it. How does it saw, air dry and behave when drying? What are some uses for the wood? It's Janka weight is very high, and it rarely rots when left on the forest floor. Tool handles and mallet heads are mentioned above, but any other uses?
Because I rarely split it, I haven't seen the grain until recently, and it has a rich brown tone that may be suitable for turning and other smaller applications. Thoughts? 

[SwampDonkey]

I'd make a small table, but all the rest of the things are just as legit. People also used it for whippletrees on sleds, wagons and such and wood yarding horses. My uncle only used horses as hobby, never had to make a living at it, but he always used ironwood on sleds and yarding chains. I don't have any on my ground except the back corner acre that was maple woods and it came there when there was cutting in it. I thinned some out with the brush saw a few years ago, but I favoured maple. I have 4 yard trees that are ironwood though, I like the seed sacks. They seem to expend a lot of energy to make those sacks for a tiny nut inside.

[KEC]

The ironwood that resembles beech is sometime called "musclewood" as the stem looks like a body-builders' rippling muscles. Grows out back of my house in wet areas.

[chep]

In our area we generally cut iron wood (Ostry virginiana). One job we sold it to a guy who used horse drawn implements. He milled them down to make the tongue (?) The thing that connects the implement to the horses? 
I think we cut him 10ft logs. They were 10 inches @ the small end. 

[SwampDonkey]

whippletree. Ironwood was all they used around here for them. Also the old timers here preferred ironwood over ash for axe handles and tool wood. My uncle was hard on axe handles and ash never lasted long, ironwood lasted a lot longer but nothing lasts forever. :D

[Old Greenhorn]

Ironwood is a VERY general term. There are over 100 species that are called ironwood by some. You can find a list HERE.

[KEC]

DANG!  I don't see anyone mentioning  that hophornbeam was popular to make ox yokes. Isn't that where "hornbeam" came from? I've seen some that were 24" dbh.  Super firewood; not  too hard to split if straight-grained.

[SwampDonkey]

hop-hornbeam is ironwood up here. The old timers here never used the term ironwood, that is a forest industry term. Unless you are a forester or forest technician or professor type up this way, you'll get a look of wonder over the use of ironwood as a label.