Swietenia mahagoni 

Swietenia mahagoni (L.) 

Family       : Meliaceae 

Common Name : മഹാഗണി (Mal)

  महोगनी (Hin)

  Mahagoni (Eng)

IUCN Status : Near Threatened (NT) ↓ 

Trees to 25 m tall; bark deeply fissured. Leaves alternate, pinnate, to 18 cm long; leaflets ca. 5 pairs, oblong-lanceolate, falcate, oblique at base, entire at margin, acuminate at apex, coriaceous, glabrous above, puberulous beneath; petioles to 3 cm long; petiolules 5-6 mm long. Panicles to 10 cm long; peduncles to 4 cm long. Flowers ca. 7 mm across. Calyx lobes 5, ovate, ca. 2 mm long, pubescent. Petals 5, obovate, hooded, ca 5 x 2 mm, spreading, pubescent outside, cream-yellow. Staminal tube cupular, ca 3 mm long, glabrous, 10-lobed; anthers 10, included, alternating with lobes. Ovary 5-loculed; style narrow, tapering, to 2 mm long. Capsules oblong, ca. 7 x 5.5 cm; seeds ca. 6 x 1.5 cm, winged.

Use: Premium furniture wood. It is also often used for musical instruments, particularly the backs of acoustic guitars and drums shells because of its ability to produce a very deep, warm tone.

Distribution : Native of West Indies and Central America

Flowering & Fruiting : April-November