Parrotia persica (
Persian Ironwood) is a
deciduousDeciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
in the family
HamamelidaceaeThe Hamamelidaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales, including 27 genera and about 80-90 species, all shrubs and small trees...
, the sole species in the genus
Parrotia but closely related to the genus
HamamelisWitch-hazel ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with two species in North America , and one each in Japan and China .-Growth:...
(Witch-hazels). It is native to northern
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
, where it is
endemicEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, habitat type, nation, or other defined zone. To be endemic to a place or area means that it is found only in that part of the world and nowhere else. For example, many species of lemur...
in the
AlborzAlborz , also written as Alburz or Elburz, is a mountain range in northern Iran stretching from the borders of Armenia in the northwest to the southern end of the Caspian Sea, and ending in the east at the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan...
mountains.
left
It grows to 30 m tall and 8-15 m broad, with a trunk up to 150 cm diameter. The
barkBark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
is smooth, pinkish-brown flaking/peeling to leave cinnamon, pink, green, and pale yellow patches in a similar manner to
planePlatanus is a small genus of trees native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae....
trees.
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Parrotia persica (
Persian Ironwood) is a
deciduousDeciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
in the family
HamamelidaceaeThe Hamamelidaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales, including 27 genera and about 80-90 species, all shrubs and small trees...
, the sole species in the genus
Parrotia but closely related to the genus
HamamelisWitch-hazel ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Hamamelidaceae, with two species in North America , and one each in Japan and China .-Growth:...
(Witch-hazels). It is native to northern
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
, where it is
endemicEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, habitat type, nation, or other defined zone. To be endemic to a place or area means that it is found only in that part of the world and nowhere else. For example, many species of lemur...
in the
AlborzAlborz , also written as Alburz or Elburz, is a mountain range in northern Iran stretching from the borders of Armenia in the northwest to the southern end of the Caspian Sea, and ending in the east at the borders of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan...
mountains.
left
It grows to 30 m tall and 8-15 m broad, with a trunk up to 150 cm diameter. The
barkBark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
is smooth, pinkish-brown flaking/peeling to leave cinnamon, pink, green, and pale yellow patches in a similar manner to
planePlatanus is a small genus of trees native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae....
trees. The
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
are alternate, ovoid, often slightly lop-sided, 6-15 cm long and 4-10 cm across, with a wavy margin; they are glossy green, turning a rich purple to brilliant red in autumn colours.
The
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
s are somewhat similar to Witch-hazel flowers but dark red; they are likewise produced in late winter on bare stems, but differ in having only four rounded sepals with no petals; the
stamenThe stamen is the male organ of a flower. Each stamen generally has a stalk called the filament , and, on top of the filament, an anther , and pollen sacs,...
s are however fairly conspicuous, forming a dense red cluster 3-4 mm across. The
fruitThe term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds, and the presence of seeds indicates that a structure is most likely a fruit, though not all seeds come from...
is a two-parted
capsuleIn botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a dehiscent structure composed of two or more carpels, that, at maturity, split apart to release the seeds within...
containing two
seedA seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s, one in each half.
Cultivation
It is cultivated as an
ornamental treeOrnamental plants are typically grown in the flower garden or as house plants. Most commonly they are grown for the display of their flowers. Other common ornamental features include leaves, scent, fruit, stem and bark. In some cases, unusual features may be considered ornamental, such as the...
for its stunning autumn colour and the smooth, patterned bark. Several cultivars have been selected for garden planting:
- 'Horizontalis': semi-weeping, wide-spreading horizontal branching pattern.
- 'Pendula' (Kew Form): Compact, weeping, quite graceful
- 'Select': Young leaves have purple margins, otherwise same as species
- 'Vanessa': Upright, columnar habit