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Bumelia tenax

Common name:	Ironwood	Family:	Sapotaceae
Author:	Willd.	Botanical references:	11, 82
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-eastern N. America - North Carolina to Florida.
Habitat:	Dry sandy soils[82], in sand-pine forests and with coastal oak[229].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	B. anomala[P] B. lacuum[B,P] B. megacocca[B,P] Sideroxylon tenax[B,G,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Tough Bully [B,P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	tenax = tenacious
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ebenales. Sapodilla family

Physical Characteristics

A decidious tree growing to 8m. It is hardy to zone 9. It is in flower in July, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Secondary, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw. A sweet flavour[82]. It is up to 14mm long[229].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Wood.

Wood - heavy, hard, close grained[82]. Of no commercial value because the trees are too small[229].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in a warm sunny site in any freely draining moderately fertile soil[200].
This species is probably hardy in the milder areas of the country[11]. Another report says that plants are cut back by temperatures below about -15° c but that they can regenerate freely from the base[200].

Propagation

Seed - we have no details on this species but would suggest that if ripe seed can be obtained it should be sown straight away in a cold greenhouse. Stored seed can be sown in late winter or early spring in a greenhouse. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter, planting them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Sideroxylon tenax (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Sapotaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Bumelia+tenax
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Bumelia+tenax

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