Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Sapindales > Meliaceae > Swietenia > Swietenia macrophylla

Swietenia macrophylla (big leaf mahogany)

Synonyms: Swietenia belizensis; Swietenia candollei; Swietenia macrophylla var. marabaensis; Swietenia tesomannii; Swietenia tessmannii

Wikipedia Abstract

Swietenia macrophylla, commonly known as mahogany, Honduran mahogany, Honduras mahogany, big-leaf mahogany, or West Indian mahogany, is a species of plant in the Meliaceae family. It is one of three species that yields genuine mahogany timber, the others being Swietenia mahagoni and Swietenia humilis. It is native to South America and Mexico, but naturalized in Singapore and Hawaii, and cultivated in plantations and wind-breaks elsewhere.
View Wikipedia Record: Swietenia macrophylla

Endangered Species

Status: Vulnerable
View IUCN Record: Swietenia macrophylla

Attributes

Air Quality Improvement [1]  Low
Allergen Potential [1]  Medium-Low
Carbon Capture [1]  High
Screening - Summer [2]  Dense
Screening - Winter [2]  Dense
Shade Percentage [1]  86 %
Temperature Reduction [1]  Medium-High
Wind Reduction [1]  Medium-High
Bloom Period [2]  Spring
Drought Tolerance [2]  High
Fire Tolerance [2]  None
Frost Free Days [2]  1 year
Fruit/Seed Abundance [2]  High
Fruit/Seed Begin [2]  Spring
Fruit/Seed End [2]  Fall
Growth Form [2]  Single Stem
Growth Period [2]  Year Round
Growth Rate [2]  Rapid
Janka Hardness [4]  800 lbf (363 kgf) Soft
Leaf Type [3]  Evergreen
Lifespan [2]  Perennial
Propagation [2]  Container, Seed
Root Depth [2]  4.986 feet (152 cm)
Seed Spread Rate [2]  Moderate
Seeds Per [2]  900 / lb (1984 / kg)
Shape/Orientation [2]  Erect
Specific Gravity [5]  0.54
Structure [3]  Tree
Vegetative Spread Rate [2]  None
Flower Color [2]  Green
Foliage Color [2]  Green
Fruit Color [2]  Brown
Fall Conspicuous [2]  Yes
Height [1]  90 feet (27.4 m)
Width [1]  43 feet (13 m)
Hardiness Zone Minimum [1]  USDA Zone: 11 Low Temperature: 40 F° (4.4 C°) → 50 F° (10 C°)
Hardiness Zone Maximum [1]  USDA Zone: 11 Low Temperature: 40 F° (4.4 C°) → 50 F° (10 C°)
Light Preference [2]  Full Sun
Soil Acidity [2]  Moderate Acid
Soil Fertility [2]  Infertile
Water Use [1]  Low

Protected Areas

Name IUCN Category Area acres Location Species Website Climate Land Use
Archipelago de Colon Biosphere Reserve 34336011 Galapagos Islands, Ecuador  
Luquillo Biosphere Reserve 8617 Puerto Rico, United States  
Santa Rosa National Park II 95780 Costa Rica

Emblem of

Belize

Predators

Consumers

Shelter for 
Phyllops falcatus (Cuban fig-eating bat)[9]

External References

USDA Plant Profile

NatureServe Explorer

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1i-Tree Species v. 4.0, developed by the USDA Forest Service's Northern Research Station and SUNY-ESF using the Horticopia, Inc. plant database.
♦ 2USDA Plants Database, U. S. Department of Agriculture
♦ 3Kattge, J. et al. (2011b) TRY - a global database of plant traits Global Change Biology 17:2905-2935
♦ 4Wood Janka Hardness Scale/Chart J W Morlan's Unique Wood Gifts
♦ 5Wood Technology Transfer Fact Sheets U.S. Department of Agriculture - Forest Service
♦ 6Ben-Dov, Y., Miller, D.R. & Gibson, G.A.P. ScaleNet 4 November 2009
♦ 7FORAGING ECOLOGY OF PARROTS IN A MODIFIED LANDSCAPE: SEASONAL TRENDS AND INTRODUCED SPECIES, GREG D. MATUZAK, M. BERNADETTE BEZY, AND DONALD J. BRIGHTSMITH, The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120(2):353–365, 2008
♦ 8HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández
♦ 9Phyllops falcatus, Valéria da Cunha Tavares, Carlos A. Mancina, MAMMALIAN SPECIES No. 811:1-7 (2008)
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0