Swietenia 



MELIACE^ 



217 



Mahogany. 



From the sea-shore up to 3000 ft.; in fl. after May rains; Wright \ 

 Broughton ! Macfadyen ! Parnell 1 Prior ! Ball ! King's House grounds, 

 narris\ PI. Jam. 8636.— Florida Keys, Bahamas, Cayman, Cuba, His- 

 paniola, St. Thomas, St. Cruz, Martinique, St. Vincent, Trinidad, Mexico, 

 Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru. 



Tree commonly 30-50 ft. high. Leaves 8-11 cm. 1. ; leaflets, 4 pairs, 

 very unequal-sided, the base on the broader side rounded, lanceolate, 



Fig. 72, 



A, Leaf and inflorescence x J. 



B, Buds and open flower ; s, staminal 



tube X 1^. 



C, Flower cut lengthwise ; s, staminal 



tube ; d, disk X 5. 



Smeteniamahagoni 3 acq,. * 



D, Fruit, ripe and splitting open (one 

 valve removed), showing seeds X J. 



E, Central axis of fruit ; p, points " of 

 attachment of seeds X I. 



F, Seed X h 



(A after Hooker, Bot. Misc.) 



apex acute, cuspidate, glabrous, 8-3 cm. 1. Calyx about 1 mm. L, lobes 

 rounded, glabrous. Petals white, elliptical, about 3*5 mm. 1. Staminal 

 tube about 3 mm. 1. Capsule about 1 dm. 1. Seeds about 6 cm. 1. 



Browne in 1756 wrote : " This tree grew formerly very common in 

 Jamaica, and while it could be had in the low lands, and brought to 

 market at an easy rate, furnished a very considerable branch of the exports. 



