Mahogany Formation

Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 164–165. . 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 (''Swietenia macrophylla''), West Indian or Cuban mahogany (''Swietenia mahagoni''), 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.

Mahogany is known for its straight, fine grain and durability, making it a popular choice for fine furniture, boat construction, and musical instruments. However, the over-harvesting of mahogany and environmental concerns have led to a decrease in its use.

Etymology

The etymology of ''mahogany'' is uncertain and a subject of debate. The term first appeared in John Ogilby's "America" (1671), referring to a "curious and rich wood" from Jamaica. Initial mentions of the mahogany tree (as opposed to wood) 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'' (meaning ''one which is the tallest or most high'') 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 ''mog(a)no'', 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.Nikolas Kozloff, ''Rain in the Amazon: How South America's Climate Change Affects the Entire Planet'' (Macmillan, 2010) 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.Victoria Day-Wilson, ''Living Abroad in Belize'' (Avalon Travel 2012), p. 14. 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, , Latin for "under the shade I flourish."

The specific density of mahogany is 0.55. Mahogany, African: (500–850 kg/m³); 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 (''Swietenia macrophylla''), 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,"Mahogany," ''Encyclopedia of Environmental Science'' (University of Rochester Press, 2000, ed. John F. Mongillo), p. 216. led to the species' placement in 2003 on Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the first time that a high-volume, high-value tree was listed on Appendix II.
* West Indian or Cuban mahogany (''Swietenia mahagoni''), 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

While only the three ''Swietenia'' species are classified officially as "genuine mahogany", the Federal Trade Commission allows certain species of trees other than ''Swietenia'' to be sold as "mahoganies" in the U.S. timber trade. This is due to the long-standing usage of the terms. But it must be prefixed with another descriptor, and they are not allowed to be sold under the name "mahogany" alone.

Two names are allowed. The first is "African mahogany" for the five species of the genus ''Khaya'' (which also belong to the mahogany family), namely: '' K. anthotheca'', '' K. grandifoliola'', '' K. ivorensis'', '' K. madagascariensis'', and '' K. senegalensis''. All of them are native to native to Africa and Madagascar. The second is the name "Philippine mahogany" for seven species (all native to the Philippines) in the genus ''Shorea'' and ''Parashorea'' (which are unrelated dipterocarps, more commonly known as "lauan" or "meranti"), 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" (''Toona calantas'', different from the above usage); "Indian mahogany" (''Toona ciliata''); "Chinese mahogany" (''Toona sinensis''); and Indonesian mahogany (''Toona sureni'');. 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" (''Chukrasia velutina'', different from ''T. ciliata''); "sipo mahogany" (''Entandrophragma utile''); "sapele mahogany" (''Entandrophragma cylindricum''); "royal mahogany" (''Carapa guianensis''); "white mahogany" ('' Turraeanthus africanus''); "New Zealand mahogany" ('' Dysoxylum spectabile''); "pink mahogany" (''Guarea'' spp.); and "demerara mahogany" (''Carapa guianensis'').

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" (''Myroxylon balsamum''), "mountain mahogany" (''Cercocarpus'' spp.), and "swamp mahogany" (''Eucalyptus robusta'').

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.

History

The name ''mahogany'' was initially associated only with those islands in the West Indies under British control (French colonists used the term ''acajou'', while in the Spanish territories it was called ''caoba''). The origin of the name is uncertain, but it could be a corruption of 'm'oganwo', the name used by the Yoruba and Ibo people of West Africa to describe trees of the genus ''Khaya'', which is closely related to ''Swietenia''. When transported to Jamaica as slaves, they gave the same name to the similar trees they saw there. Though this interpretation has been disputed, no one has suggested a more plausible origin. The indigenous Arawak name for the tree is not known. In 1671 the word mahogany appeared in print for the first time, in John Ogilby's ''America''. Among botanists and naturalists, however, the tree was considered a type of cedar, and in 1759 was classified by Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) as ''Cedrela mahagoni''. The following year it was assigned to a new genus by Nicholas Joseph Jacquin (1727–1817), and named ''Swietenia mahagoni''.

Until the 19th century all of the mahogany was regarded as one species, although varying in quality and character according to soil and climate. In 1836 the German botanist Joseph Gerhard Zuccarini (1797–1848) identified a second species while working on specimens collected on the Pacific coast of Mexico, and named it ''Swietenia humilis''. In 1886 a third species, ''Swietenia macrophylla'', was named by Sir George King (1840–1909) after studying specimens of Honduras mahogany planted in the Botanic Gardens in Calcutta, India.

Today, all species of ''Swietenia'' grown in their native locations are listed by CITES, and are therefore protected. After ''S. mahogani'' and ''S. macrophylla'' were added to CITES appendixes in 1992 and 1995 respectively international conservation programs began in earnest aided by a 1993 World Bank report entitled "Tropical Hardwood Marketing Strategies for Southeast Asia". Efforts to repopulate mahogany largely failed in its native locations due to attacks from the shoot borer ''Hypsipyla grandella'' and similarly failed in Africa due to the attacks by the equivalent ''Hypsipyla robusta''. After so many years of mismanagement and illegal logging, ''Swietenia'' also suffered from genetic loss thus mutating and weakening the seeds. Additionally erosion in its native locations meant seeds could no longer even be planted. However, both species grew well in Asia and the Asia–Pacific due to the absence of these shoot borers and absence of other limitations. Plantation management progressed throughout the 1990s and 2000s in Asia and the South Pacific. Global supply of genuine mahogany has been increasing from these plantations, notably Fiji, and Philippines. For ''Swietenia macrophylla'', the trees in these plantations are still relatively young compared to the trees being harvested from old growth forests in South America. Thus, the illegal trade of bigleaf mahogany continues apace.

History of American mahogany trade

In the 17th century, the buccaneer Alexandre Exquemelin recorded the use of mahogany or Caoba (Cedrela being the Spanish name) on Hispaniola for making canoes: "The Indians make these canoes without the use of any iron instruments, by only burning the trees at the bottom near the root, and afterwards governing the fire with such industry that nothing is burnt more than what they would have..."

The wood first came to the notice of Europeans with the beginning of Spanish colonisation in the Americas. A cross in the Cathedral at Santo Domingo, bearing the date 1514, is said to be mahogany, and Philip II of Spain apparently used the wood for the interior joinery of the palace El Escorial, begun in 1584. However, ''caoba'', as the Taino Natives called the wood, was principally reserved for shipbuilding, and it was declared a royal monopoly at Havana in 1622. Hence very little of the mahogany growing in Spanish controlled territory found its way to Europe.

After the French established a colony in Saint Domingue (now Haiti), some mahogany from that island probably found its way to France, where joiners in the port cities of Saint-Malo, Nantes, La Rochelle and Bordeaux used the wood to a limited extent from about 1700. On the English-controlled islands, especially Jamaica and the Bahamas, mahogany was abundant but not exported in any quantity before 1700.

18th century

While the trade in mahogany from the Spanish and French territories in America remained moribund for most of the 18th century, this was not true for those islands under British control. The British Parliament passed an act of Parliament, the Naval Stores Act 1721 ( 8 Geo. 1. c. 12), which removed all import duties from timber imported into Britain from British possessions in the Americas. This immediately stimulated the trade in West Indian timbers including, most importantly, mahogany. Importations of mahogany into England (and excluding those to Scotland, which were recorded separately) reached 525 tons per annum by 1740, 3,688 tons by 1750, and more than 30,000 tons in 1788, the peak year of the 18th century trade.

At the same time, the Naval Stores Act 1721 had the effect of substantially increasing exports of mahogany from the West Indies to the British colonies in North America. Although initially regarded as a joinery wood, mahogany rapidly became the timber of choice for makers of high quality furniture in both the British Isles and the 13 colonies of North America.

Until the 1760s over 90 per cent of the mahogany imported into Britain came from Jamaica. Some of this was re-exported to continental Europe, but most was used by British furniture makers. Quantities of Jamaican mahogany also went to the North American colonies, but most of the wood used in American furniture came from the Bahamas. This was sometimes called Providence wood, after the main port of the islands, but more often ''madera'' or ''madeira'', which was the West Indian name for mahogany.

In addition to Jamaica and Bahamas, all the British controlled islands exported some mahogany at various times, but the quantities were not large. The most significant third source was Black River and adjacent areas on the Mosquito Coast (now Republic of Honduras), from where quantities of mahogany were shipped from the 1740s onwards. This mahogany was known as 'Rattan mahogany', after the island of Ruatan, which was the main offshore entrepot for the British settlers in the area.

At the end of the Seven Years' War (1756–63), the mahogany trade began to change significantly. During the occupation of Havana

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