Ironwood, a name bestowed in different countries on the timber of different trees, on account of its great hardness and heaviness.—Metrosideros vera belongs to the natural order Myrtaceæ, and is a native of Java and other eastern islands. Its wood is much valued by the Chinese and Japanese for making rudders, anchors, &c., and is imported into Britain in small quantities under the name of Ironwood. The bark is used in Japan as a remedy for diarrhoea and mucous discharges.—Mesua ferrea, a tree of the natural order Guttiferae, is a native of the East Indies, and is planted near Buddhist temples for the sake of its fragrant flowers, with which the images of Buddha are decorated. The timber known as Ironwood is very hard, as is that of M. speciosa, another tree of the same genus and region.—The wood of Vepria undulata, of the order Diosmaceæ, is called White Ironwood at the Cape of Good Hope. It is very hard and tough, and is chiefly used for axles, ploughs, and other agricultural implements.—The wood of Olea laurifolia, a species of olive, is called Black Ironwood in the same country, and is used for the same purposes and for furniture.—O. capensis is the Ironwood of the Dutch settlers at the Cape of Good Hope, and its wood has similar properties to and is used for the same purposes as the foregoing.—Cupania sidcroylon—natural order Sapindaceæ—is the
Ironwood of the islands of Bourbon and Amboyna. The wood is red in colour, very heavy, knotty, and difficult to work; it is used chiefly for making stakes and poles.—Sideroxylon inerme—natural order Sapotaceæ, belonging to the Cape of Good Hope—is named Ironwood and also Melkhout by the settlers. The timber is extremely hard, and so heavy that it sinks in water. It is extensively used in boat and bridge building and for agricultural purposes.