What is Mesua ferrea?
{{italictitle}} {{Speciesbox |name = Ceylon ironwood |image = MesuaFerrea_IronWood.jpg |image_caption = Ceylon ironwood in Thelwatta, South-East Sri Lanka. |genus = Mesua |species = ferrea |authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]] |synonyms = ''Mesua coromandelina'' <small>[[Robert Wight|Wight]]</small><br/>''Mesua nagassarium'' <small>([[Burm.f.]]) [[Kosterm.]]</small><br/>''Mesua pedunculata'' <small>[[Robert Wight|Wight]]</small><br/>''Mesua roxburghii'' <small>[[Robert Wight|Wight]]</small><br/>''Mesua sclerophylla'' <small>[[Thw.]]</small><br/>''Mesua speciosa'' <small>[[Jacques Denys Choisy|Choisy]]</small> <br />''Mesua stylosa'' }} '''''Mesua ferrea''''', the '''Sri Lankan ironwood''', '''Indian rose chestnut''', or '''cobra's saffron''', is a species in the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Calophyllaceae]]. This slow-growing tree is named after the heaviness and hardness of its [[timber]]. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental due to its graceful shape, grayish-green [[foliage]] with a beautiful pink to red flush of drooping young leaves, and large, fragrant white flowers. It is native to wet, tropical parts of [[Sri Lanka]], [[South India]]. {{Biology-stub}} [[Category:Malpighiales]] [[Category:Plants of Asia]] [[Category:National symbols of Sri Lanka]]