Skip to main content

Big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla)

Mahoni or mahogany or big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) is plant species in Meliaceae, large tree with a height reaching 35–40 meters, diameter up to 125 cm, straight stems and cylindrical. This tree reduces air pollution by around 47%-69%, shade trees, air filters and water catchers.

S. macrophylla has blackish brown bark, shallow grooves like scales, while the bark is gray and smooth when still young, but turns dark brown, grooved and flakes after aging. Mahoni blooms after 7 years of age, cylindrical flower crowns, brownish yellow, stamens attached to crowns, white and brownish anthers.

Dlium Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla)

Fruit appears in ovoid packs, notched five and brown. Flat seeds, black or brown. Mahogany grows wild in forests and other places in the lowlands or planted on the edge of the road as a protective tree. Big-leaf mahogany can flourish in brackish sand close to the beach.

Big-leaf mahogany are called air filter trees and water catchers. The leaves absorb pollutants around and release oxygen which makes the surrounding air fresh. Soil and roots bind rainwater which is beneficial for water reserves.

Fruit contains flavonoids and saponins for blood circulation, reduces cholesterol and fat deposits in the blood vessels, acts as an antioxidant to get rid of free radicals, prevent pestilence, helps improve the immune system, prevents blood clots and strengthens heart function.

Mahoni survives in arid land and brackish sand close to the beach and likes a place with lots of direct sunlight. S. macrophylla can live for months without water. Big-leaf mahogany grows well at a maximum height of 1,500 meters above sea level, rainfall of 1,524-5,085 mm/year, and temperatures of 11-36C.





Since the 1990s, many have started to be cultivated for wood that has high economic value. The quality of hardwood and is very good for furniture, carving items and handicrafts. Often also for ruler material because size is not easily changed.

The quality of mahogany is slightly below teak (Tectona grandis) and is often dubbed the second prima donna in the world timber market. The bark is used to dye the clothes where the cloth is boiled with mahogany bark will turn yellow and not fade. Mahogany sap is used as raw material for glue and leaves for animal feed.

Seed extract is used as a vegetable pesticide to control Plutella xylostella and Crocidolomia binolalis which attack cabbage plants, especially during pests in the larval stage. The use of botanical insecticides is an alternative pest control to reduce the negative impact of using unwise synthetic insecticides.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Sapindales
Family: Meliaceae
Genus: Swietenia
Species: Swietenia macrophylla

Popular Posts

Purwaceng (Pimpinella pruatjan)

Purwaceng or purwoceng or antanan gunung or Viagra of Java ( Pimpinella pruatjan or Pimpinella priatjan ) are small termas growing horizontally in Apiaceae, growing in villages on Dieng Plateau, Central Java Province, Indonesia, at 1,500 to 2,000 meters above sea level, the roots have medicinal properties for aphrodisiacs and are usually processed in powder form for a mixture of coffee or milk. P. pruatjan grows flat on the ground but does not propagate, small leaves are reddish green for 1-3 cm in diameter. This plant is only found in Java and grows in high mountain areas. A low population where industrial demand is very high results in increasingly scarce. Another place that is likely to become a purwaceng habitat is the Iyang Mountains and the Tengger Mountains in East Java Province. Efforts to multiply and cultivate have a big problem where these plants have difficulty producing seeds. In vitro propagation research through tissue cultivation has been carried out to overcome ...

Six new species forming the Sumbana species group in genus Nemophora Hoffmannsegg 1798 from Indonesia

NEWS - Sumbawa longhorn ( Nemophora sumbana Kozlov, sp. nov.), Timor longhorn ( Nemophora timorella Kozlov, sp. nov.), shining shade longhorn ( Nemophora umbronitidella Kozlov, sp. nov.), Wegner longhorn ( Nemophora wegneri Kozlov, sp. nov.), long brush longhorn ( Nemophora longipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.), and short brush longhorn ( Nemophora brevipeniculella Kozlov, sp. nov.) from the Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. The Lesser Sunda Islands consist of two parallel, linear oceanic island chains, including Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Sawu, Timor, Alor, and Tanimbar. The oldest of these islands have been continuously occurring for 10–12 million years. This long period of isolation has allowed significant in situ diversification, making the Lesser Sundas home to many endemic species. This island chain may act as a two-way filter for organisms migrating between the world's two great biogeographic regions, Asia and Australia-Papua. The recognition of a striking cli...

New living fossil, Amethyst worm lizard (Amphisbaena amethysta), from Espinhaço Mountain Range, Brazil

NEWS - New species from the northern Espinhaço Mountains, Caetité municipality, Bahia state, Brazil. Amethyst worm lizard ( Amphisbaena amethysta ) is the 71st species of the genus with 4 precloacal pores and the 22nd species of Caatinga morphoclimatic domain. Identification of the new species shows the reptiles of the Mountains are far from complete and may contain greater diversity of endemic taxa. A. amethysta can be distinguished by its anteriorly convex snout, slightly compressed and unkeeled, pectoral scales arranged in regular annuli, four precloacal pores, distinct head shield, 185-199 dorsal and half annuli, 13-16 caudal annuli, a conspicuous autotomy spot between the 4th-6th caudal annuli, 16-21 dorsal and ventral segments in the middle of the body, 3/3 supralabials, 3/3 infralabials and a smooth and rounded tail tip. A. amethysta occurs in areas with an average elevation of 1000 meters in patches of deciduous and semi-deciduous forests associated with valleys, slopes, fore...