32 PITTIER: VENEZUELAN MAHOGANY 



BOTANY. — The Venezuelan mahogany, a hitherto undescribed 

 species of the genus Swietenia. H. PiTTiER, Bureau of 

 Plant Industry. 



It is interesting to note how many groups of trees well known 

 for their industrial or other economic uses have thus far escaped 

 the attention of botanists. This is especially true in the case 

 of tropical woods, and the principal reason seems to be that 

 collectors, taking it for granted that plants universally used by 

 man are too well known to deserve critical study, seldom secure 

 the herbarium material which is indispensable for their proper 

 botanical identification. 



Among many examples of this kind may be mentioned the 

 Venezuelan mahogany, a stately tree which is rather abundant 

 in the basal region of Venezuela, from sea-level up to about 

 1,000 meters. Besides being extensively used locally, it has for 

 some time been exported to Europe and the United States. The 

 only attempt at its scientific classification was that of Dr. A. 

 Ernst, who in 1883, inh is report on the Venezuelan National 

 Exposition, considered it identical with the Santo Domingo 

 mahogany (Swietenia Mahagoni L.). From this species, how- 

 ever, it differs widely in the size and dehiscence of the fruit, the 

 size, shape, and texture of the leaflets, and the details of the 

 flower structure. 



Since 19 13, when for the first time I had an opportunity to 

 observe this tree in situ, I have been able to study it over an 

 extensive territory. From the first it seemed to me specifically 

 distinct from the real mahogany, of which several individuals, 

 grown from seeds brought directly from vSanto Domingo, are to 

 be seen in the vicinity of Caracas. I was struck principally by 

 the dimension of the capsules and by their mode of dehiscence. 

 Heretofore the basal dehiscence noted in the true mahogany has 

 been considered one of the diagnostic characters of the genus. 

 In the Venezuelan species, however, the capsules open as often 

 from the apex as from the base, and I have noticed that such 

 is the case also with 5. macrophylla, which I have had occasion 

 to observe in Panama. 



