TN native. Also known as Ironwood, Blue-Beech, and Musclewood. A small tree of the understory in the original forest of most of the eastern U.S. Likes creek sides, cool ravines and coves. The bark is smooth and thin and looks like a muscular arm with vertical flutations up and down the trunk. Reminds a person of the American Beech tree. The leaf is a typical small elliptical leaf with a pointy tip and teeth around the edge.