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
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular

Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia)

Sonokeling or Java palisandre or Indian rosewood ( Dalbergia latifolia ) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae, a large tree producing hardwood, medium weight and high quality, rounded leaves, thin and broad pods, highly adaptive, grows in dry and rocky landscapes with lots of sunlight. D. latifolia has medium to large size, cylindrical stems, up to 40 m high with a ring of up to 2 m, the bark is brownish gray and slightly cracked longitudinally. The crown is dense, dome-shaped and sheds leaves. The leaves are compound and pinnate oddly with 5-7 strands that have different sizes and appear alternately on the shaft. The leaves are round or elongated in width or heart, the upper surface is green and the surface is pale green. The flowers are small, 0.5-1 cm long and clustered in panicles. The pods are green to brown when ripe and are elongated lanceolate, pointed at the base and tip. The pods have 1-4 seeds which are soft and brownish. Indian rosewood grows at elevations below 600 m,
2 comments
Read more

Bush sorrel (Hibiscus surattensis)

Bush sorrel ( Hibiscus surattensis ) is a plant species in Malvaceae, annual shrub, crawling on the surface or climbing, up to 3 meters long, thorny stems, green leaves, yellow trumpet flowers, grows wild in forests and canal edges, widely used for vegetables and treatment. H. surattensis has stems with spines and hairs, branching and reddish green. Petiole emerges from the stem with a straight edge to the side, up to 11 cm long, sturdy, thorny, hairy and reddish green. The leaves have a length of 10 cm, width of 10 cm, 3-5 lobed, each has a bone in the middle with several pinnate veins, sharp tip, sharp and jagged edges, wavy, stiff, green surface. Flowers up to 10 cm long, trumpet-shaped, yellow with a purple or brown or red center, solitary, axillary. Epicalyx has forked bracts, linear inner branches, spathulate outer branches. Stalks up to 6-7 cm. The seeds have a length of 3-3.5 mm and a width of 2.5 mm. Bush sorrels grow in pastures, marshes, abandoned fields and plantations,
8 comments
Read more

Lawe (Abroma augustum)

Lawe or devil's cotton ( Abroma augustum ) is a plant species in Malvaceae, a small tree or bush that is erect, up to 10 m tall but generally 2-3 m tall, stems and twigs covered with star hair that are sharp, brittle and cause skin itching, sometimes also with glandular hair. A. augustum has a single leaf, alternating, has a long stalk, a heart-shaped base, a pointed tip with a very variable base whose leaves near the base of the branch have a circular shape from the egg to the heart, 3-5 curves, diameter 20-37 cm, while the leaves near the tips of twigs have elongated shapes with smooth toothed edges. The flowers gather in cymes at the tips of the twigs or face leaves, 1-4 buds, 1-3 cm long stems and 6-8 mm bractea. Hanging flowers, 3-5 cm in diameter, 5 angles and 1-3.5 cm long stems. The petals have 5 leaves, share a deep, triangular, 15-20 mm long, 6 mm wide and greenish. The crown has 5 leaves, spoon-shaped, 2-3.5 cm long, 1 cm wide, dark purple or red or yellow, concave an
Post a Comment
Read more