Swietenia mahagoni (L.) Jacq.
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Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.
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Family
Meliaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Tree to 15m tall; bark light brown, fissured; stems cylindrical, glabrous. Leaves parinpinnate, rarely with an abortive terminal leaflet, 12-25 cm long; leaflets 2-5 pairs, opposite or subopposite, petolulate, 5-6 x 2.5 -3 cm, ovate -lanceolate to elliptic- ovate, often falcate, chartaceous, the apex acute or acuminate, the base very asymmetrical, cuneate- rounded, the margins entire. Flowers unisexual, in terminal or axillary thyrses, as long as or shorter than the subtending leaf; bracts minute. Calyx cup- shaped, 0.8 - 1.5 mm long, glabrous; petals greenish, expanded, concave, oblong; staminal tube urn-shaped, 3-4 mm long, glabrous, the anthers included disk reddish; ovary globose, 4-5-locular, each locule with 12-14 ovules, the style 1-1.5 mm long, the stigma discoid. Capsule erect, woody, ovoid, dark brown, minutely lenticellate, 6-10 cm long, the pericarp thick. Seeds flatetened, reddish brown, 4-5 cm long, including the wing.
Distribution and Ecology - Persisten after cultivation; Cruz Bay Town (A2514). Native to southern Florida, the Bahamas, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, and Hispaniola; introduced into Puerto Rico, the Virigin Islands, and the Lesser Antilles.
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Discussion
Common Name: mahogany
Cultivated Species: Azadirachta indica Juss. is known only in cultivation on St. John