Ironwood

Description:

Leaves are simple and alternate, soft to the touch, the blade oval-elliptic, 2 to 5 inches long, 1 to 2 inches wide, tapered to pointed tip, the base rounded and symmetrical, sharply double-toothed along the edges.Fruiting branches seen on an ironwood tree. Fruit is a small, oval nutlet enclosed in an inflated, papery sac 1/3 to 1 inch long. Male and female flowers are borne separately on the same tree in dangling clusters called catkins.

Habitat:

Spotted near the Tamarac Discovery Center. Found in part shade, sun; average to dry soil. Native plant of Minnesota

Notes:

Ironwood is a common understory tree throughout Minnesota's upland deciduous forest.