Island Ironwood, Lyonothamnus floribundus

About Island Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus) 18 Nurseries Carry This Plant

Add to My Plant List

Island Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus) is a native tree that grows in Southern and Central California, primarily in the Channel Islands region. It tends to grow in rocky slopes, at elevations from 100-1600 feet. Lyonothamnus is endemic to the Channel Islands of California, where it grows in the chaparral and oak woodlands of the rocky coastal canyons.

This is a tree growing up to 15 metres (49 ft) tall with peeling reddish gray or brown bark. The evergreen leaves are shiny, dark green with lighter undersides, and borne on short petioles. The two subspecies have leaves of different leaf shapes. Ssp. asplenifolius (Santa Cruz Island Ironwood) has incised, fern-like leaves and is the more commonly available in horticultural form. Ssp. floribundus (Catalina Island Ironwood) has smooth, undivided leaves and is seldom seen in gardens. The inflorescence of both is a cluster of woolly white flowers with many short, whiskery stamens. The fruit is a pair of hard follicles.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Tree

Size

25 - 50 ft tall
15 - 24 ft wide

Form

Upright Columnar

Growth Rate

Fast

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

None

Flower Color

Cream, White

Flowering Season

Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported

Numerous birds and insects are attracted to the flowers
Butterfly host plants

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed

) SHOW ALL

Western Avocado Leafroller Moth Amorbia cuneanaAmorbia cuneana

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun

Moisture

Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 18

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 22° F

Soil Drainage

Fast, Medium

Soil Description

This tree is tolerant of a variety of garden soils as long as drainage is reasonably good. Soil PH: 5.0 - 8.0

Common uses

Bank Stabilization, Hedges

Companion Plants

Use with other island species such as Catalina Island Manzanita (Arctostaphylos catalinae), Santa Cruz Island Buckwheat (Eriogonum arborescens), St. Catherine's Lace (Eriogonum giganteum), Redflower Bucksheat (Eriogonum grande var. rubescens), Tree Poppy (Dendromecon harfordii), Giant Coreopsis (Leptosyne gigantea), Catalina Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia ssp. lyonii), Island Hazardia (Hazardia cana) and Island Bristleweed (Hazardia dentonsa)

Propagation?

For propagating by seed: Place seeds in about 6 times their volume of 140°F wa ter then let cool about 45 mins. before sowing ( Maunsell Van Rensselaer correspondence to Howard McMinn 1947). No treatment. gives fair germination.

Natural Setting

Site Type

Rocky slopes

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 4.0" - 90.9", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 4.24", Coldest Month: 8.7" - 58.5", Hottest Month: 32.5" - 87.4", Humidity: 1.19" - 38.76", Elevation: -480" - 13935"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Catalina Ironwood

Print Plant Sign Print Plant Label

Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Island Ironwood

Lyonothamnus floribundus

Sign in to your Calscape Account X

Island IronwoodLyonothamnus floribundus

Sign in to your Calscape Account X

Island Ironwood

Lyonothamnus floribundus