Along one of the main trails at Drysdale Woods is a large Ironwood tree, (ostrya virginiana), and according to this plaque, it's believed to be the largest Ironwood tree in the Province of Ontario.
I had never heard of an Ironwood tree, but they have the hardest and densest wood of any native tree species in Canada, hence the reference to iron. In the past the wood was used for tool handles, sled runners, mallets, ladder rungs and firewood, but owing to the rarity of these trees, they are no longer harvested and should be protected.Another common name for this tree is hophornbeam..... "hop" refers to the similarity of the fruit clusters to hops, an ingredient in beer-making; "horn" refers to the hardness of the wood; and "beam" comes from an archaic English word for tree. The tree is growing on a slippery slope, so I didn't climb up to measure the trunk, but it's wider than my outstretched arms. There are a few baby hophornbeams growing around it too. It's a slow growing tree, so I think this tree is over 100 years old.
The bark is composed of shaggy peeling narrow strips that look a bit like strips of fried bacon! These trees rarely grow taller than 12 m (40') but I don't know how tall this one is, it looks pretty big to me.
I'll go back to visit this Ironwood tree again, and I'm keen to see it in the spring with its male and female catkins.
This tree hugging leftie thanks you. And I hope you do return in Spring.
ReplyDeleteActually this tree was too big to hug!
DeleteI have never heard of this tree before..it looks beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting bark..so shaggy...
I'm looking forward to seeing it in the spring.
I hadn't see a tree bark like that before, very distinctive.
DeleteI think that's a new tree for me.
ReplyDeleteIt was new to me too.
DeleteThere are some in PEI but I can’t identify them yet. That one is a beauty.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm so glad there is a little information plaque there, otherwise it might be missed among all the other trees.
DeleteInteresting info re the ironwood tree and appreciated the photos, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, yes, an interesting tree.
DeleteWe have a grove of hackberry trees here. Apparently, they are not all that common in Ontario.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to google the hackberry!
DeleteOh you can just tell by the colour of that trunk that it's very hardwood Shammi, a bit like our Jarrah trees. Good to know that it's a protected species now, I very much doubt our hardwood trees are ✨
ReplyDeleteYour photos are awesome. When I moved to Ontario from Saskatchewan back in 1969 two things amazed me. How green everything was and how big the trees were. I was out at a friends acreage and found a high tree and climbed it. A 22 year old kid
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