162
Swietenia
mahagoni (L.) Jacq.
Synonym : Cedrela mahagoni L.
Family
: Meliaceae
Local Names
: Mahogany, West Indian
mahogany
Distribution: Native of West Indies and Central America
Habitat: Grown as avenue tree
IUCN
status:
Endangered
Endemic: No
Uses: Timber yielding. The
bark is astringent, bitter and febrifuge. An infusion is used to treat
diarrhoea and fevers
Key
Characters:
Trees to 25 m tall; bark deeply
fissured. Leaves alternate; leaflets oblong-lanceolate, entire at margin. Calyx
lobes 5, ovate, pubescent. Petals 5, obovate, hooded, cream-yellow. Staminal
tube cupular, 10-lobed; anthers 10, included, alternating with lobes. Ovary
5-loculed; style narrow. Capsules oblong; seeds winged.
