Leadwood, black ironwood Leadwood, black ironwood

Rhamnus ferrea Vahl, Symb. Bot. 3: 41, plate 58. 1794 (as ferreus); Krugiodendron acuminatum J. Á. Gonzales & Poveda; Rhamnidium ferreum (Vahl) Sargent

Shrubs or trees, 1–10 m, glabrous or glabrescent; trunks to 5 dm diam. Leaves: petiole 3–6 mm; blade ovate to elliptic or broadly elliptic to nearly oval, 2–6 cm, margins undulate, apex rounded to obtuse, usually truncate-emarginate, rarely acuminate. Inflorescences 3–5-flowered. Pedicels 1–6 mm. Flowers almond-fragrant. Drupes purplish red to nearly black at maturity.

Flowering sporadically year-round. Hammocks, thickets, mangrove woodlands; 0–10 m; Fla.; s Mexico; West Indies; Central America.

Krugiodendron ferreum in the flora area is found along the Atlantic coast from Brevard to Monroe counties. It is cultivated in gardens and parks as a specimen tree. Krugiodendron acuminatum was described from collections far-disjunct in Costa Rica and in Veracruz, Mexico. A. Pool (pers. comm.) considers these collections to fall within the range of variability of K. ferreum.