Ironwood

Description:

Vase-shaped tree that grows with wispy grey green twigs reminiscent of pine needles. The weeping branchlets look a little like jointed rushes and are ringed at their nodes by tightly overlapping little scalelike leaves. The stout trunk is covered with thick pebbly textured brownish grey bark. The tree is supported by a dense, spreading, fibrous root system. The male flowers are borne in slender cylindrical spikes at the twig tips. The tiny brownish red female flowers grow in heads attached to the branchlets and are followed by 0.5 in (1.3 cm) diameter fruits that resemble pinecones and contain 70-90 winged seeds each.

Habitat:

Shoreline in Kualoa Regional Park.

Notes:

Native from Southeast Asia to northern Australia and the Pacific, but it has been planted and has naturalized on beaches, berms, and similar open coastal sites in tropical areas throughout the world. In its native region, Australian pine occurs in habitats ranging from subtropical thorn scrubland to wet forest. The trees grow best in slightly uneven topography where holes and swales hold rainwater reserves. Recently disturbed places like cleared vacant lots and filled wetlands are ideal.