
Big leaf Mahogany (മഹാഗണി)

Scientific Name: Swietenia macrophylla King
Synonyms: Swietenia belizensis Lundell, Swietenia candollei Pittier
Unique ID: 130
Systematic Position
Class: Dicotyledonae
Sub Class: Polypetalae
Series: Disciflorae
Order: Geraniales
Family: Meliaceae
Common Names
English – Big leaf Mahogany
Malayalam – മഹാഗണി
Tamil – Theankani
Hindi – Mahagony
Description: Swietenia macrophylla is a very large tree, reaching a height of 30-40 m and a girth of 3-4 m; in favourable conditions it can reach 60 m high and 9 m girth. Trunk straight, cylindrical, with a buttressed base; bark rough, flaking off in small patches. Leaves paripinnate, up to 60 cm long; leaflets 6-16, ovate, lanceolate, acuminate, slightly oblique, light green or reddish when young, dark green and shining when mature, up to 20 cm long, with 8-12 pale, secondary nerves. Flowers 8 mm across, in narrow supra-axillary panicles about 8-13 cm long and fragrant; petals greenish-white, oblong, 4 mm long, rigidly pointed. Fruit a woody capsule resembling a large inverted club, about 12.5 x 7.5 cm, erect. Flowering and fruiting are distinctly seasonal.
Habitat: S. macrophylla is found in all forest types, from the edge of the pine savannah to the climax rainforest, but mostly in mixed hardwood forest belts, along riverbanks, on deep alluvial soils
Distribution: native to Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Venezuela
Uses: Timber; gum,resin,tannin,dye stuff, lipids and medicine