ironwood

ironwood
/uy"euhrn wood'/, n.
1. any of various trees yielding a hard, heavy wood, as the American hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana, or Lyonothamnus floribundus, found on the islands off the coast of S California.
2. the wood of any of these trees.
[1650-60; IRON + WOOD1]

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Any of numerous trees and shrubs, found worldwide, that have exceptionally tough or hard wood useful for timber, fence posts, and tool handles.

Species include the eastern, or American, hop hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), a small tree of northern Iran (Parrotia persica), and Ceylon ironwood (Mesua ferrea). Though these trees belong to different plant orders, all have bright yellow to orange and scarlet autumn foliage.

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 city, Gogebic county, western Upper Peninsula of Michigan, U.S. Ironwood lies along the Montreal River at the Wisconsin border, some 90 miles (145 km) east of Duluth, Minn. It is the retail centre of a bistate urban complex in the Gogebic Range that includes the communities of Wakefield and Bessemer (Mich.) to the east and Hurley, Saxon, and Iron Belt (Wis.) to the west. The settlement was laid out in 1885 and named for iron dealer James R. (“Iron”) Wood. The Gogebic Range was formerly the site of a prosperous deep-shaft iron-mining industry. Iron mining, which reached its peak in 1920, ceased in 1967, and many miners shifted to work in the copper mines in adjacent Ontonagon county; most of those mines, however, had ceased operations by the mid-1990s. Ironwood's economy now relies upon lumber, tourism, food processing, and the manufacture of plastics, wood products, and clothing.

      Ironwood is the seat of Gogebic Community College (1932). It is headquarters for the Ottawa National Forest and is a recreation centre noted for its skiing (at nearby ski resorts). A statue of Hiawatha 52 feet (16 metres) high is an imposing city landmark. The Ironwood Historical Museum, located in the former Chicago and North Western (Chicago and North Western Transportation Company) railroad depot (1892), is one of several notable 19th-century structures in the city's downtown. Inc. village, 1887; city, 1889. Pop. (2000) 6,293; (2005 est.) 5,728.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Ironwood — may refer to:PlantsAny particular wood that has a reputation for hardness. Usage of the name may (or may not) include the tree that yields this wood. Species involved include: * Acacia estrophiolata Southern ironwood * Androstachys johnsonii –… …   Wikipedia

  • Ironwood — Ironwood, MI U.S. city in Michigan Population (2000): 6293 Housing Units (2000): 3349 Land area (2000): 6.553472 sq. miles (16.973415 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 6.553472 sq. miles (16.973415 …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Ironwood, MI — U.S. city in Michigan Population (2000): 6293 Housing Units (2000): 3349 Land area (2000): 6.553472 sq. miles (16.973415 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 6.553472 sq. miles (16.973415 sq. km) FIPS …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • ironwood — [ī′ərnwood΄] n. 1. any of various trees, esp. hornbeam and hop hornbeam, with extremely hard, heavy wood 2. the wood of an ironwood …   English World dictionary

  • Ironwood — I ron*wood , n. (Bot.) A tree unusually hard, strong, or heavy wood. [1913 Webster] Note: In the United States, the hornbeam and the hop hornbeam are so called; also the {Olneya Tesota}, a small tree of Arizona; in the West Indies, the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Ironwood — (spr. air nwudd), Stadt im nordamerikan. Staat Michigan, Grafschaft Gogebic, Mittelpunkt des Gogebic Range Eisendistrikts (Erzförderung 1902: 3,7 Mill. Ton.), mit (1900) 9705 Einw …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Ironwood — (spr. eir nwudd), Stadt im nordamerik. Staate Michigan, (1900) 9705 E.; Eisendistrikt …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • ironwood — noun 1. handsome East Indian evergreen tree often planted as an ornamental for its fragrant white flowers that yield a perfume; source of very heavy hardwood used for railroad ties • Syn: ↑rose chestnut, ↑ironwood tree, ↑Mesua ferrea • Hypernyms …   Useful english dictionary

  • ironwood — asiūklinė kazuarina statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Kazuarininių šeimos dekoratyvinis, medieninis, pluoštinis augalas (Casuarina equisetifolia), paplitęs pietų Azijoje, Australijoje ir Okeanijoje. atitikmenys: lot. Casuarina equisetifolia… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • ironwood — Hornbeam Horn beam , n. [See {Beam}.] (Bot.) A tree of the genus {Carpinus} ({Carpinus Americana}), having a smooth gray bark and a ridged trunk, the wood being white and very hard. It is common along the banks of streams in the United States,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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