172 



MELIACEAE. 



SWIETENIA. Mahogany. 

 (Family Meliaceae). 



Tender trees, often of large 

 size and then with buttressed 

 trunks: subevergreen. Twigs gla- 

 brous, moderate, terete: pith 

 round, continuous, light brown. 

 Buds solitary, sessile, small, de- 

 pressed globose, with about 3 

 more or less abruptly pointed ex- 

 posed scales, the end-bud lacking. 

 Leaf-scars alternate, half-round or 

 somewhat shield-shaped, little 

 raised: bundle-traces 3: stipule- 

 scars lacking. Leaves, if present, 

 pinnately compound. 



Mahogany, which furnishes the 

 most important cabinet wood ex- 

 ported from the tropics where it 

 occurs as scattered individual 

 trees in a mixed forest, is rather 

 effective as a shade tree where 

 temperatures are favorable. In 



twigs, buds and foliage it resembles the preceding closely 



but differs in its compact bark and excellent wood. 



An idea of the buttressed trunk of a mature mahogany 



tree is given by the plate facing p. 463 of Gibson's American 



Forest Trees. 



Twigs light brown, warty. 



S. Mahagoni. 



