Mahogany
Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus Swietenia, indigenous to the Americas and part of the pantropical chinaberry family, Meliaceae. Mahogany is used commercially for a wide variety of goods, due to its coloring and durable nature. It is naturally found within the Americas, but has also been imported to plantations across Asia and Oceania. The mahogany trade is believed to have started as early as the 16th century and flourished throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. In some countries, mahogany is classified as an invasive species.
Mahogany is wood from any of three tree species: Honduran or big-leaf mahogany, West Indian or Cuban mahogany, and Swietenia humilis. Honduran mahogany is the most widespread and the only genuine mahogany species commercially grown today. Mahogany is a valuable lumber used for paneling, furniture, boats, musical instruments, and other items. The United States is the leading importer of mahogany, while Peru is the largest exporter. Mahogany is the national tree of the Dominican Republic and Belize.
Swietenia species have been introduced in various countries outside the Americas since the 1800s, with many plantings becoming naturalized forests. All species of Swietenia are now listed by CITES and protected due to concerns over illegal logging and mismanagement. Mahogany species can crossbreed when they grow in proximity, and the hybrid between S. mahagoni and S. macrophylla is widely planted for timber.
The history of the American mahogany trade dates back to the 17th century when the wood was first noticed by Europeans during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Mahogany became more popular in the 18th century when the British Parliament removed import duties on timber from British possessions, leading to increased exports to Europe and North America. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, mahogany from various regions was imported into Europe and North America, with Britain being the largest consumer.
By the late 19th century, African mahogany began to dominate the market, and by the early 20th century, the supply of American mahogany became scarcer. In response to concerns about the sustainability of mahogany, several species have been placed on CITES Appendices to regulate the trade.
Etymology
The etymology of mahogany is uncertain and a subject of debate. The term first appeared in John Ogilby's America, referring to a "curious and rich wood" from Jamaica. Initial mentions of the mahogany tree date to 1731, with its first detailed description in 1743, attributed to Swietenia mahagoni by Kemp Malone in 1940. Malone suggested that mahogany originated as a generic term for 'wood' in a native Bahamian language. F. Bruce Lamb disagreed, pointing out that the Arawak language's word for wood is caoba. Lamb identified a West African origin for the word in the Yoruba oganwo, collectively m'oganwo used for the Khaya genus of trees, whose timber is today called African mahogany. Lamb proposes that Yoruba and Igbo people brought to Jamaica as slaves identified the local trees of the Swietenia genus as m'oganwo, which developed into the Portuguese term mogano, which first appeared in print as the name of a river in 1661, before finally developing into the English mahogany in Jamaica between 1655 and 1670.Malone criticized this etymology, arguing that the proposed metamorphosis from the Yoruba m'oganwo to the Portuguese mogano to the English mahogany was a logical and linguistic stretch relying on the conversion of the singular oganwo to the collective m'oganwo, which Malone finds unlikely considering the tree's generally solitary nature. He also argues that Lamb's earliest identified use of the Portuguese mogno, which is for a river that Lamb asserts must have been so named for the mahogany oganwo trees on its banks, could just as well have been named for any tall tree, since oganwo only means tall. Lamb, in turn, criticized Malone's methodology and perceived bias, and maintained that there is no evidence for mahogany as a generic word.
Description
Mahogany is a commercially important lumber prized for its beauty, durability, and color, and used for paneling and to make furniture, boats, musical instruments and other items. The leading importer of mahogany is the United States, followed by Britain; while the largest exporter today is Peru, which surpassed Brazil after that country banned mahogany exports in 2001. It is estimated that some 80 or 90 percent of Peruvian mahogany exported to the United States is illegally harvested, with the economic cost of illegal logging in Peru placed conservatively at $40–70 million USD annually. It was estimated that in 2000, some 57,000 mahogany trees were harvested to supply the U.S. furniture trade alone.Mahogany is the national tree of the Dominican Republic and Belize. A mahogany tree with two woodcutters bearing an axe and a paddle also appears on the Belizean national coat of arms, under the national motto, Sub umbra floreo, Latin for "under the shade I flourish."
The specific density of mahogany is 0.55. Mahogany, African: ; Mahogany, Cuban: 660 kg/m3; Mahogany, Honduras: 650 kg/m3; Mahogany, Spanish: 850 kg/m3.
Species
The three species are:- Honduran or big-leaf mahogany, with a range from Mexico to southern Amazonia in Brazil, the most widespread species of mahogany and the only genuine mahogany species commercially grown today. Illegal logging of S. macrophylla, and its highly destructive environmental effects, led to the species' placement in 2003 on Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the first time that a high-volume, high-value tree was listed on Appendix II.
- West Indian or Cuban mahogany, native to southern Florida and the Caribbean, formerly dominant in the mahogany trade, but not in widespread commercial use since World War II.
- Swietenia humilis, a small and often twisted mahogany tree limited to seasonally dry forests in Pacific Central America that is of limited commercial utility. Some botanists believe that S. humilis is a mere variant of S. macrophylla.
Other species
Two names are allowed. The first is "African mahogany" for the five species of the genus Khaya, namely: K. anthotheca, K. grandifoliola, K. ivorensis, K. madagascariensis, and K. senegalensis. All of them are native to Africa and Madagascar. The second is the name "Philippine mahogany" for seven species in the genus Shorea and Parashorea, namely:S. polysperma, S. negrosensis, S. contorta, S. ovata, S. almon, S. palosapis, and P. malaanonan. The timber from both "African mahoganies" and "Philippine mahoganies" as defined by the FTC, are very close in terms of appearance and properties to true mahoganies. No other species are allowed to be sold in the United States under the name "mahogany", aside from the three Swietenia species and the aforementioned exceptions.
Within the mahogany family, other closely related members of other genera which also resemble mahoganies in terms of appearance and properties are also sometimes known as "mahoganies", though they can not be sold as such in the US timber trade. This includes some members of the genus Toona, namely: "Philippine mahogany" ; "Indian mahogany" ; "Chinese mahogany" ; and Indonesian mahogany ;. However members of this genus are more usually known as "toons" or "red cedars." They have similar properties to true mahoganies but differ in appearance. Other species in the same family sometimes known as "mahoganies" include "Indian mahogany" ; "sipo mahogany" ; "sapele mahogany" ; "royal mahogany" ; "white mahogany" ; "New Zealand mahogany" ; "pink mahogany" ; and "demerara mahogany".
Multiple other unrelated species are also known as "mahogany". These include the aforementioned Shorea species which does actually come close to true mahogany in terms of appearance and properties. But it also includes other species which do not resemble true mahogany at all and have very different wood properties, like the "Santos mahogany", "mountain mahogany", and "swamp mahogany".
Distribution
The natural distribution of these species within the Americas is geographically distinct. S. mahagoni grows on the West Indian islands as far north as the Bahamas, the Florida Keys and parts of Florida; S. humilis grows in the dry regions of the Pacific coast of Central America from south-western Mexico to Costa Rica; S. macrophylla grows in Central America from Yucatan southwards and into South America, extending as far as Peru, Bolivia and extreme western Brazil. In the 20th century various botanists attempted to further define S. macrophylla in South America as a new species, such as S. candollei Pittier and S. tessmannii Harms., but many authorities consider these spurious. According to Record and Hess, all of the mahogany of continental North and South America can be considered as one botanical species, Swietenia macrophylla King.Both major species of Swietenia were introduced in several countries outside of the Americas during the 1800s and early 1900s using seeds from South America and the Caribbean. Many of these plantings became naturalized forests over time.
India had both S. macrophylla and S. mahagoni introduced in 1865 using seeds from West Indies. Both eventually became naturalized forests. Bangladesh had Honduran S. macrophylla introduced in 1872 and as with India it became naturalized in some areas. S. mahagoni and S. macrophylla were introduced in Indonesia in 1870 using seeds from India. S. macrophylla was included in plantation forests planted in Indonesia from the 1920s to the 1940s. Philippines had S. macrophylla introduced in 1907 and in 1913 as well as S. mahagoni in 1911, 1913, 1914, 1920 and 1922. Planting resumed in the late 1980s. It was planted with many other exotic tree species for the purpose of reforestation. S. macrophylla was planted in Sri Lanka in 1897 but it was left unmanaged until the 1950s when reforestation efforts initiated by the Sri Lankan government led to plantations being consciously developed. In the early 1900s S. mahagoni was planted on the islands of O'ahu and Maui in Hawaii but was neglected and became naturalized forests. Additionally, S. macrophylla was planted in 1922 on O'ahu and is now naturalized. Fiji had S. macrophylla introduced originally in 1911 as an ornamental species using seeds from Honduras and Belize. Fiji has become a major producer of mahogany in the 21st Century due to a robust plantation program spanning over 50 years. Harvesting began in 2003.