Plant: Parrotia Persica / Persion Ironwood

Plant description

Persian ironwood is a slow growing, multi stemmed small tree or large shrub of ascending, vase to rounded form reaching 15 to 30 feet tall and wide, with fine texture. Apetalous red flowers with 5 to 15 stamens and brown bracts open in late winter and early spring before the leaves, which emerge reddish purple, mature to medium or dark green and turn yellow, orange and red in fall. Mature trunks exfoliate into shades of green, white and tannish brown, its best feature. It takes full sun to partial shade in a moist, well drained acid loam and resists drought, heat, pollution and poor soil, with no serious insect or disease problems. Use it as a lawn or patio specimen or a street tree.

Flowers

Apetalous flowers with 5 to 15 red stamens and brown bracts, opening in late winter and early spring.

Foliage

Simple, alternate, oval to obovate oblong leaves emerge reddish purple in spring and become medium to dark green by summer.

Fruit

A brown two valved capsule containing one shiny brown seed.

Bark & stems

On mature trees the bark exfoliates and produces shades of green, white and tannish brown over thin brown twigs.

Native range

Southeast Azerbaijan to Northern Iran

Plant details