BajaNomad

brazil wood

volcano - 3-15-2013 at 06:30 AM

is brazil (brasil) wood iron wood? My friends who camp in Frailes River bed love to find it for their campfire as it burns hot with no smoke.They say it is hard to come by. I don't find it in my Baja Plant Guide, but do see it in "The Secret Forest"...a book about the delicate plant ecosystems of the Sierra Madre/Copper Canyon region......reference says it will burn when green, and makes a green flame (?)

DENNIS - 3-15-2013 at 07:18 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by volcano
is brazil (brasil) wood iron wood?



Maybe:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironwood

monoloco - 3-15-2013 at 07:34 AM

Brasil wood, or what they call Brasil wood here is not the same as ironwood.

Palo Brasil

[Edited on 3-15-2013 by monoloco]

BajaBlanca - 3-15-2013 at 02:50 PM

and Brazil wood is from Mexico. go figure.

volcano - 3-15-2013 at 03:38 PM

wow...great photo, and definitely not ironwood. thanks.

Cypress - 3-15-2013 at 04:32 PM

Can think of at least 3 different species of trees that are called Iron Wood.:?:

Udo - 3-15-2013 at 04:36 PM

The ironwood I have seen seemed more solid than the photo shows.
I'll have to admit...I have never seen Ironwood in the raw as a growing tree, but have seen dead pieces and tried to cut it with a chain saw and it was like trying to cut through a boulder...even sparks came out of the pieces.
I generally used it after I had a hot bed of ashes that first burned some pine, pinion, and a bed of smoldering oak. Then I placed the Ironwood on top (three logs).
When I woke up the next morning, the ironwood was still smoldering!

monoloco - 3-15-2013 at 04:46 PM

True desert ironwood should not be used for leña as it is quite valuable, even small pieces can be used for knife handles, carvings, etc.

Udo - 3-15-2013 at 04:59 PM

Had no idea, MONO.

I just thought it was the best piece of firewood I ever used in my fireplace!

Barry A. - 3-15-2013 at 05:13 PM

The low deserts of SoCal have abundant "Iron Wood", and northern Baja also. The Seri Indian's of western Sonora have carved it into many delightful shapes for years. It is one tough wood, and burns REALLY hot-------in fact I think it is much too valuable to burn, but many do.

The wood-cutters of N. Baja have made big inroads into the wood in N. Baja, and even in the SoCal desert where theft of it is a small problem, and has been for many years (35 plus that I know of). They even have poached Iron wood in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, along the highway near "the narrows", and on both sides of "the narrows", and elsewhere.

Barry

Wikipedia says...

David K - 3-15-2013 at 05:17 PM

If you don't have the awesome Baja Plant Field Guide... then here's the next best thing:

Olneya tesota is a perennial flowering tree of the Fabaceae family, legumes (peas, beans, etc.), which is commonly known as Ironwood or Desert Ironwood. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Olneya. This tree is part of the western Sonoran Desert complex in the Southwestern United States, which includes flora such as palo verde, saguaro, ocotillo, brittlebush, creosote bush, and mesquite.

Description

The Desert Ironwood grows as a bush or tree and reaches heights of about 10 metres (33 ft), and average trunk diameters of about 60 cm (24 in); in exceptional sites in larger protected washes, greater height and more massive.
In younger trees, the bark is gray, shiny, and smooth; in older trees the bark is broken open. The tree is an evergreen plant, but can lose its leaves if temperatures fall below 2 °C (36 °F). In continual drought conditions leaves will be lost.
Leaves are bluish-green and pinnate compound. Leaves are arranged on a petiole, 6 in (15 cm) long, with 6-9 leaflets-(or variously up to 15, 7, 7-opposite, and one terminal), each being 0.7 to 2.5 cm (0.28 to 0.98 in). At the base of each pinnate leaf petiole grow two thorns, about 1 cm (0.39 in) long.

Bloom time occurs in late April/May to June. Flowers are of 5 unequal petals, in colors of medium purple, magenta-red, or also white to pale pink. Seedpods are 5–8 cm (2–4 in) long, and light reddish brown. When seedpods are ripened two other species Parkinsonia florida-(Blue Palo Verde), and Acacia constricta-(Catclaw Acacia) have similar light red brownish colors. Catclaw acacia seedpods are noticeably J-shaped and of shorter length.

Range and location

The Desert Ironwood, Olneya is native to the southwestern United States and the extreme northwest of Northern Mexico in the north, western-(Baja California Peninsula) and southeastern Sonoran Desert, and is partially an indicator species of that desert. It ranges to Baja California Sur, as well as the north Baja California, and is only east of the Baja Peninsula cordillera ranges, on the Gulf of California-(Sea of Cortez) side. It ranges northwest into the Colorado Desert-(a part of the Sonoran Desert), of southeast Southern California, is in western and southern Arizona, and Sonora state Mexico. Its range in Sonora state Mexico is west of the Sierra Madre Occidental cordillera and in the south, approaches the northern border of northern Sinaloa state. Olneya does not range into the higher elevation, colder, southeast of Arizona Sonoran Desert region of the sky islands of the Madrean Sky Islands region.

Ironwood Forest National Monument in south-central Arizona is named for Olneya tesota.




Skipjack Joe - 3-15-2013 at 05:17 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by volcano

......reference says it will burn when green, and makes a green flame (?)



I would tell you what makes a green flame. But modesty prevents me.

monoloco - 3-15-2013 at 06:04 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Barry A.
The low deserts of SoCal have abundant "Iron Wood", and northern Baja also. The Seri Indian's of western Sonora have carved it into many delightful shapes for years. It is one tough wood, and burns REALLY hot-------in fact I think it is much too valuable to burn, but many do.

The wood-cutters of N. Baja have made big inroads into the wood in N. Baja, and even in the SoCal desert where theft of it is a small problem, and has been for many years (35 plus that I know of). They even have poached Iron wood in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, along the highway near "the narrows", and on both sides of "the narrows", and elsewhere.

Barry
Good info Barry, any idea how long it takes an ironwood tree to grow? I would imagine it's pretty slow. I have cut up pieces on the bandsaw for small projects and it's beautiful.

monoloco - 3-15-2013 at 06:14 PM

Wow, ironwood trees can be 1500 years old!:

Ironwood
(Olneya tesota)
Ironwood is one of the largest and longest-lived Sonoran Desert plants, reaching 45 feet in height and persisting as long as 1,500 years.
It is a single or multi-trunked evergreen tree, and displays lavender to pink flowers in May. By early summer, the pods mature. Each 2-inch pod contains one to four shiny brown seeds that are relished by many Sonoran animals, from small mammals and birds to humans. Its iron-like wood is renowned as one of the world's densest woods.

The shaded sanctuary and richer soils created by ironwoods increase plant diversity and provide benefits to wildlife. Ironwoods are too hard to provide nesting cavities for birds, but the cacti that grow beneath them provide such opportunities. Insects abound within the ironwood complex, attracting birds and reptiles. As with other legumes, the ironwood's leaf litter supplies nitrogen to the soil and its seeds provide a protein-rich resource for doves, quail, coyotes, and many small rodents.

The Ironwood tree is found only in the Sonoran Desert, in the dry locales below 2,500 feet, where freezing temperatures are uncommon. In fact the Ironwood's habitat is almost an exact match of the Sonoran Desert boundry. Ironwoods are most common in dry ephemeral washes. Ironwoods function as oases of fertile and sheltered habitat within a harsh and challenging desert landscape. As a tree becomes established, it tempers the physical environment beneath it, creating a micro-habitat with less direct sunlight, lower surface temperatures, more organic matter, higher water availability, and protection from herbivores. Because of these factors, the Ironwood tree has immense ecological value in the Sonoran Desert.

Ironwood grows taller than most trees in Sonoran desert scrub, so it serves as a great perch and roost for hawks and owls. It's dense canopy is utilized by nearly 150 bird species. Add tall ironwoods to the scrubby vegetation on some desert bajadas, and you're likely to add 63 percent more birds than creosote, cactus and bursage alone could support. The ironwood's canopies are so dense that they reduce the probability of extreme heat exposure in the summer.

Air temperatures may be 15 degrees cooler under ironwoods than in the open desert sun five feet away. Ironwood also shelters frost sensitive young saguaros, organ pipe cactus, night-blooming cereus and many other native plants growing beneath them. More than 230 plant species have been recorded starting their growth within the protective microclimate under ironwood "nurse plants." This also creates an optimum wildflower nursery which is foraged by rabbits, bighorn, and other native species.

In addition to the birds, there are 62 reptiles and amphibians, and 64 mammals that use ironwoods for forage, cover and birthing grounds. At just one site in the Silverbell Mountains, an ironwood-bursage habitat also shelters some 188 kinds of bees, 25 ant colonies, and 25 other types of insects. That adds up to an extraordinary level of biodiversity.

Bob H - 3-15-2013 at 06:45 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by monoloco
True desert ironwood should not be used for leña as it is quite valuable, even small pieces can be used for knife handles, carvings, etc.


I've seen very expensive tobacco pipes made from ironwood. They were beautiful.

bacquito - 3-15-2013 at 07:05 PM

Thanks all for interesting information.

güero - 3-15-2013 at 08:22 PM

Iron wood, it's what most of the locals call "uña del gato". It is pretty plentiful in a lot of the areas I've been in Baja Sur even almost to the Pacific side. I haven't been to the SOC in Baja Norte but according to the map posted earlier I'm sure it's plentiful there also. Locals like to burn it down to coals then BBQ meat. fish or oysters on the grill. Heat the tortillas, pot of beans sack of cold beer and wow, we got a party! Grows well next to arroyos. Looks a little like a mesquite but the leaves are slightly larger. Trunks can be large too but I've also seen mesquite with large trunks. Comes in dark red and dark brown almost black. Hard as a rock and sinks like a rock in water. Just adding my 3 cents and I may be wrong about certain things so keep your criticism respectable.

Terry28 - 3-15-2013 at 08:40 PM

We have lots of iron wood here in the forest around Big Bear, it is also referred to as Mountain Mahogany, cut it green if you don't want to ruin your saw chain, it splits really easy when dry...not so easy when green. Around here a cord of ironwood is around $400...not cheap but very efficient. It is as hard as a math quiz...

monoloco - 3-15-2013 at 09:10 PM

Uña de gato is cat's claw acacia, a similar but different tree than desert ironwood even though it's often called palo fierro locally, likewise mountain mahogany is an altogether different plant than desert ironwood. There are numerous woods worldwide that are referred to as ironwood.

volcano - 3-16-2013 at 06:50 AM

there is a little grove of ironwood in my little wash near my cabin.(no photos). I will look for a palo brazil next winter's trip down. We are located next to Arroyo Brazil in the Ranch Brazil area, mid eastcape. So much in the area is named after plants or trees: Vinorama, Rancho Garambulla, San Miguel.

Is the Palo Brazil rare ?

monoloco - 3-16-2013 at 07:09 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by volcano
there is a little grove of ironwood in my little wash near my cabin.(no photos). I will look for a palo brazil next winter's trip down. We are located next to Arroyo Brazil in the Ranch Brazil area, mid eastcape. So much in the area is named after plants or trees: Vinorama, Rancho Garambulla, San Miguel.

Is the Palo Brazil rare ?
I don't know how rare it is but it seems to be limited to the higher elevations of the east cape region. The locals use it medicinally.
http://www.medicinatradicionalmexicana.unam.mx/monografia.ph...

DavidE - 3-16-2013 at 04:51 PM

Please don't burn "Palo Fiero".

Mesquite is plenty hard, burns hotter than blazes and has a delightful cooking smoke. It also grows faster and makes a poor beach bonfire because it does not flame like pino.

Palo Brasil makes for stunningly beautiful posts and pillars when the wood is surfaced and marine varnished. It is also found in the sierra de la laguna.