122 Meliaceae. 
still flourishes, and bears fruits profusely. The fresh fruits have 
a strong odor reminiscent of garlic. 
Swietenia Mahcgani L. 
The True Mahogany. 
The True Mahogany is a large evergreen tree with abruptly pin- 
nate, glabrous leaves consisting of six to ten leaflets, which are ovate- 
lanceolate and pointed ; the woody capsule is dehiscent from the 
base, ovoid in outline and three to four inches long; the seeds 
have a terminal, oblong wing. 
The Mahogany is a native of the West Indies extending to 
Mexico, Honduras and Peru. 
This tree furnishes the very valuable red mahogany wood of 
commerce. The heartwood is reddish-brown, seasons well, and is 
easily worked. It is used mainly for furniture but occasionally also 
in ship-building. The tree yields a gum which is liquid at first but 
dries up readily into white brittle fragments. In the West Indies 
the bark is sometimes employed as a substitute for cinchona. 
There are several mature trees in Honolulu, one which bears 
fruit profusely on upper King Street, others on the grounds of Luna- 
lilo Home. Lately Kalakaua Avenue has been planted with these 
trees. A great many woods resembling the True Mahogany in color 
have been termed Mahogany, as for example the wood of Acacia 
Koa, the native koa which has reached the market as Hawaiian 
Mahogany. 
Melia Azedarach L. 
Pride of India or Persian Lilac. 
The Pride of India reaches a height of over forty feet but has a 
rather short trunk and broad crown. It is bare during a short 
period of the year. Its leaves have three to four pinnae with three to 
twelve ovate-lanceolate, deeply serrate or sometimes lobed leaflets. 
The flowers are lilac with a strong scent of honey. The fruit is a 
drupe, yellow when ripe and three-fourths of an inch long. 
As the; name implies it is a native of India, and also of Burmah. 
It is able to stand more cold than the Neem tree, growing at eleva- 
tions of as much as 9,000 feet. 
The leaves and flowers are used medicinally, a poultice prepared 
of them is employed to relieve nervous headaches. In America where 
the tree is considerably planted in the southern states a decoction 
