Swietenia macrophylla King (Honduras mahogany)

Family meliaceae

An evergreen tree with brown young twigs and dense leathery pores, the Swietenia macrophylla King (Honduras mahogany) has monopinnate leaves and askew and asymmetric leaflet bases, looking rather like a crescent. Most deciduous plants bare all their leaves, but the Honduras mahogany is different. It takes off its leaves all over the ground in April. Its yellow green little flowers bloom in summer, which is not easy to discover. Nevertheless, its woody brown capsular fruit is very big. There are thin wings at the seeds. When the fruit ripens, the capsular fruit cracks into five thickness flaps. At that time people can see many thin and long red brown propeller-like seeds first flying in the air then slowly dropping to the ground up-side down. Its trunk is straight and wood quality hard and dense, making it an excellent material for making furniture and constructing buildings.

　　Source of Pictures: Self-shot Pictures