672 



Black Ironwood 



I. BLACK IRONWOOD 



GENUS KRUGIODENDRON URBAN 



Krugiodendron ferreum (Vahl) Urban 



Rhammis jerreus Vahl. Rhamnidiuni ferreum Sargent 



MONOTYPIC small evergreen tree or shrub, which has been referred 

 by various authors to 8 different genera; it grows in southern Florida, 

 and is widely distributed in the West Indies, from the Bahamas to 

 St. Vincent and Jamaica, though not yet found in Cuba; it is common 

 in Porto Rico. It sometimes grows to a height of 10 meters, forming a trunk 

 4 or 5 dm. thick, but is usually smaller. 



The thick bark is ridged and gray, the young twigs green and velvety, be- 

 coming smooth and gray. The 

 leaves are ovate to broadly oval, 

 blunt or sometimes notched, en- 

 tire-margined, firm, bright green 

 and shining on the upper sur- 

 face, dull green beneath, 2 to 5 

 cm. long, the upper ones of the 

 twigs mostly opposite and the 

 lower alternate; the stipules are 

 thin, pointed, and fall away 

 soon after the new leaves un- 

 fold; the leaf-stalks are 3 to 6 

 mm. long. The small greenish 

 yellow flowers, which open in 

 April or May, are in little axil- 

 lary clusters much shorter than 



Fig. 623. Black Ironwood. 



the leaves; they are perfect, regular, and about 4 mm. broad; there are 4 to 6, 

 usually 5, triangular-ovate pointed sepals slightly united at the base, each with a 

 crest on its inner side; there are no petals; the stamens are as many as the sepals, 

 alternate with them and a little shorter; the ovary is ovoid, smooth, 2-celled, 

 each cavity containing 2 ovules; the style is short and thick, the stigma 2-lobed. 

 The fruit is an ovoid or nearly round black drupe, 5 to 8 mm. long, containing 

 I bony pit. 



The wood is very heavy, sinking in water, its specific gravity being about 1.30; 

 it is hard, dense, and orange-brown. The genus was named by Professor Urban 

 in honor of Leoj)old Krug, his associate for many years in the study of the West 

 Indian flora. 



