Description

Leaves: Alternate; simple; 1-1/2" to 3" wide, 3 to 5" long; deciduous; oval to obovate; coarse teeth mostly on the upper half of the blade; dark green to purplish to red in summer; glabrous above and slightly hairy below; petioles short; fall color yellow to orange to red.

Twigs/buds: Twigs slender; gray-brown; hairy at first becoming glabrous later.  Vegetative buds 1/4" long, stalked, with 2 finely hairy, brown scales; flower buds round, dark, hairy.

Flowers/fruit: Flowers perfect, somewhat showy stamens (no petals), red; bloom before leaves emerge in April. Fruit a 3/8" to 1/2" wide, 2-celled, dry capsule; brown.

Bark: Very ornamental on older branches and trunks; thin; peels off, leaving gray, white, green, and brown patches; similar to Pinus bungeana.

Wood: Strong and hard; sometimes called Persian ironwood.

General: Native to Iran; not utah. Tolerant of a variety of conditions including some drought, but not poor drainage. Medium-sized (up to 40' tall and 20' to 30' wide); single trunk or multi-stemmed. Intermediate shade tolerance.

Landscape Use: A medium-sized tree that should be planted more in Utah; very ornamental for foliage and bark. I have just seen a couple in Utah. Supposed to be very tolerant of urban conditions; fairly pest-free; good street tree. Zones 5(4?)-8.

Cultivars: 'Biltmore', Horizontalis', 'Pendula', 'Ruby Vase', 'Vanessa'.

Characteristics