Swietenia mahagoni
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| Swietenia mahagoni | ||||||||||||||
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 Cultivated tree, India
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| Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq. |
Swietenia mahagoni, commonly known as the West Indian Mahogany, is a species of Swietenia, native to southern Florida, and the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola.[1]
It is a medium-sized semi-evergreen tree growing to 30–35 m (100 ft) tall. The leaves are pinnate, 12–25 cm long, with four to eight leaflets, each leaflet 5-6 cm long and 2-3 cm broad; there is no terminal leaflet. The flowers are small, produced in panicles. The fruit is a woody capsule 5-10 cm long and 3-6 cm broad, containing numerous winged seeds.[1]
[edit] Cultivation and uses
Swietenia mahagoni is the species from which the true original mahogany wood was produced. Supplies have now become very rare due to over-harvesting, and most mahogany marketed now comes from other related species, often with faster growth but lower wood quality.[1]
It is also grown as an ornamental tree in subtropical and tropical regions
The word Mahagony is a Hindi/Sanskrit word which is made of two basic words Maha+Gony, which means great (maha) qualities (gony).
[edit] References
- ^ a b c DANIDA Factsheet: Swietenia mahagoni
- IUCN Red List: Swietenia mahagoni.
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