IRON-WOOD

iron-wood, the name applied to several kinds of timber, the produce of trees from different parts of the tropics, and belonging to very different natural families. usually the wood is extremely hard, dense and dark-coloured, and sinks in water. several species of _sideroxylon_ (_sapotaceae_) yield iron-wood, _sideroxylon cinereum_ or _bojerianum_ being the _bois de fer blanc_ of africa and mauritius, and the name is also given to species of _metrosideros_ (_myrtaceae_) and _diospyros_ (_ebenaceae_). west indian iron-wood is the produce of _colubrina reclinata_ (and _c. ferruginosa_ (_rhamnaceae_), and of _aegiphila martinicensis verbenacae_). _ixora_ (_siderodendron_) _triflorum_ (_rubiaceae_) is the _bois de fer_ of martinique, and zanthoxylum _pterota_ (_rutaceae_) is the iron-wood of jamaica, while _robinia ponacoco_ (_leguminosae_) is described as the iron-wood of guiana. the iron-wood of india and ceylon is the produce of _mesua ferrea_ (_guttiferae_). the iron-wood tree of pegu and arracan is _xylia dolabriformis_ (_leguminosae_), described as the most important timber-tree of burma after teak, and known as _pyingado_. the endemic _bois de fer_ of mauritius, once frequent in the primeval woods, but now becoming very scarce, is _stadtmannia sideroxylon_ (_sapindaceae_), while _cossignya pinnata_ is known as the _bois de fer de judas_. in australia species of _acacia_, _casuarina_, _eucalyptus_, _melaleuca_, _myrtus_, and other genera are known more or less widely as iron-wood. tasmanian iron-wood is the produce of _notelaea ligustrina_ (_oleaceae_), and is chiefly used for making ships' blocks. the iron-wood or lever-wood of north america is the timber of the american hop hornbeam, _ostrya virginica_ (_cupuliferae_). in brazil _apuleia ferrea_ and _caesalpinia ferrea_ yield a kind of iron-wood, called, however, the _pao ferro_ or false iron-wood.