Story at a Glance

Two of the best known woods in the world are briefly described as to point of origin, characteristics and general usage both grow outside the United States.

The freshly sawn heartwood is a yellowish-white to salmon pink, but after exposure to air and light it changes to a rich golden brown. Wood from Brazll, Bolivia, and Peru tends to be darker colored and slightly heavier than that originating in Central America. Luster is high. Texture is medium and uniform. Grain is usually straight, but certain trees may produce a wide varietY of figure such as fiddleback, blister, stripe, swirl, and mottle. The wood is without odor or taste. It weighs about 32 pounds per cubic foot.

The lumber seasons easilY and rapidly with minimal degrade. Shrinkage is low, and dimensional stability is excellent.

Mahogany is very easy to work and produces very good results in all operations. Because of its excellence, it is generally used as a standard for the rating of other troPical sPecies.

Tension wood zones, when Present, are likely to produce fuzzY or totn grain surfaces in planing operations'

The strength ProPerties of mahogany are generally similar to those of paper birch and black cherrY'

Mahogany

T HREE sPecies are recognized, I but Swierenia macroPhYlla Provides the major volume of the timber on the commercial market. It occurs from southern Mexico, through Central America, Columbia, and Venezuela into the Amazon Basin to northern Bolivia and eastern Peru.

Swietenia mahagoni occurs in the West Indies and southern Florida; S. humilis is native to the Pacific side of southern Mexico and extends southward to Costa Rica. The two latter species are generally heavier woods and, because of the limited volumes avail' able, are utilized almost entirely within their areas of growth.

In evaluations of decay resistance at the Forest Products LaboratorY, mahogany showed a higher average level of decay resistance than the other species commonly called mahoganY (non.swietenia species). Most tests showed it to be in the resistant or very resistant class.

The West Indian sPecies and Peruvian wood was, in general, much better than the Central American wood in this respect.

Mahogany is used wherever an attractive and dimensionally stable wood is required. Some of the more important applications are for home and office furniture, architectural woodwork and Paneling, radio and television cabinets, models and foundry patterns, boats and ships, sculpture, turning and carving, and numerous other uses.