Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq.

മഹാഗണി

Family : Meliaceae

Synonym : Cedrela mahagoni L

Common Names : Mahogany, West Indian mahogany

Flowering Period : April – November

Distribution : Native of West Indies and Central America

Habitat : Grown as avenue tree

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.