TREE 19Photographs by Aniq
Mahogany
Swietenia macrophylla
A substantial dark trunk supports a dense canopy. Small plants and trailing greenery cover parts of the bark and lower branches.
Observations
A substantial dark trunk supports a dense canopy. Small plants and trailing greenery cover parts of the bark and lower branches.
About this identification
A tall, fluted trunk with spreading surface roots is covered in ferns and a creeping fig, and its canopy holds pinnate leaves with few pairs of large, spear-shaped leaflets, closest to the widely planted mahogany. A rain tree is the main alternative; its hanging pear-shaped woody fruits would settle the question.
Identified from photographs of bark, leaves, fallen litter and epiphytes against the Malaysian campus-tree flora. Moderate and tentative records would be settled by a close-up of flowers or fruit.
Species reference: Swietenia macrophylla