| Ceylon ironwood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ceylon ironwood in Selangor, Malaysia. | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Calophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Mesua |
| Species: | M. ferrea |
| Binomial name | |
| Mesua ferrea | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Mesua coromandelinaWight | |
Mesua ferrea, theCeylon ironwood, orcobra saffron,[2] is a species in thefamilyCalophyllaceae native to theIndomalayan realm. This slow-growing tree is named after the heaviness and hardness of itstimber. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental for its graceful shape, grayish-greenfoliage with a striking pink to red flush of drooping young leaves, and its large, fragrant white flowers. It is thenational tree ofSri Lanka, as well as the state tree ofMizoram and state flower ofTripura inIndia.[3]
The species was first published inCarl Linnaeus's bookSpecies Plantarum on page 515 in 1753.[4]
Mesua ferrea is acomplex species and had been split into several species and varieties.[5] A.J.G.H. Kostermans and Gunatilleke et al. call the tree described in this articleMesua nagassarium.[6][7] Kostermans lists several subspecies ofMesua nagassarium.[6]
These authors listMesua ferrea as a separate species, that is endemic to Sri Lanka and is a small, 15 meters high tree that grows near streams and in marshes in the southwest of Sri Lanka, where it is called "Diya Na" inSinhala, meaning "Water Na Tree". This "Diya Na" is not cultivated.[6][7] Gunatilleke et al. (p. 139), however, remark in a footnote: "In the most recent revisiondiya na is named asMesua thwaitesii andna asMesua ferrea".[7]
Kostermans and Gunatilleke et al. classifyMesua ferrea in the familyClusiaceae, while in the AgroForestryTree Database it is allocated to theGuttiferae.[6][7] InPlants of the World Online,[4] andWorld Flora Online it is in theCalophyllaceae family.[1]
The tree can grow over 30 m (98 ft) tall, often buttressed at the base with a trunk up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in diameter. The bark of younger trees has an ash grey color with flaky peelings, while of old trees the bark is dark ash-grey with a red-brown blaze. It has simple, opposite, narrow, oblong to lanceolate, blue-grey to dark green leaves that are 7–15 cm (2.8–5.9 in) long and 1.5–3.5 cm (0.59–1.38 in) wide, with a whitish underside. The emerging young leaves are red to yellowish pink and drooping. The branches are slender, terete and glabrous. The bisexualflowers are 4–7.5 cm (1.6–3.0 in) in diameter, with four white petals and a center of numerous orange yellow stamens. The fruit is an ovoid to globose capsule with one to two seeds.[5]
It is native to wet, tropical parts of Sri Lanka, India, southernNepal,Burma,Thailand,Indochina, thePhilippines,Malaysia andSumatra, where it grows in evergreen forests, especially in river valleys. In the eastern Himalayas andWestern Ghats in India it grows up to elevations of 1,500 m (4,900 ft), while in Sri Lanka up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft).[5][6][7]
In the dry zone of Sri Lanka, where ironwood trees normally do not grow wild, large, old ironwood trees can be seen around the remains of ancient Buddhist monasteries on rocky hills aroundDambulla such asNa Uyana Aranya, Namal Uyana, Na-golla Aranya, Pidurangala nearSigiriya, Kaludiya Pokuna nearKandalama, andRitigala. They are probably the descendants of trees planted as ornamentals in the monasteries in ancient times during theAnuradhapura period. Older trees form suckers or shoots from the base of the trunk, which become new trees when the old trunk falls down; therefore the bases and roots of some ironwood trees in these sites might be very old.[8]
InTheravada Buddhism, this tree is said to have used as the tree for achieved enlightenment, or Bodhi by four pastBuddhas:Mangala (මංගල), Sumana (සුමන), Revata (රේවත), and Sobhitha (සෝභිත).
Buddhists believe that the next BuddhaMaitreya will alsoawaken under this tree. In Buddhist texts, it is often callednāgapuṣpa in Sanskrit and (龍華樹lónghuā shù) in Chinese.[9][10]
As the English name indicates, the wood of this tree is very heavy, hard and strong. The density is 940 to 1,195 kg/m3 (59 to 75 lb/ft3) at 15% moisture content. The colour is deep dark red. It is hard to saw and is mainly used for railroad ties and heavy structural timber.
In Sri Lanka the pillars of the 14th century Embekke Shrine near Kandy are made of iron tree wood.[11]
The flowers, leaves, seeds and roots are used as herbal medicines in India, Malaysia, etc.[5][2] and innag champa incense sticks.
In the northeastern state ofAssam, India, its seeds used to be used for lighting purpose in evening for day to day purpose (while mustard oil for religious and health and culinary purposes) before the introduction ofkerosene by the British.
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