West Indies Mahogany: Habitat

This is one of the most popular shade trees in urban areas of southern Florida, and is a component of natural forests of areas such as the Everglades and the Florida Keys. It is the only large meliaceous tree that is common in Florida. S. mahogani also occurs in the West Indies, Bahamas and South Florida. Mahogany formerly extended further north in Florida, but it has been cut to extinction. A valuable lumber tree, mahogany has been rapidly disappearing from the natural tropical forests due to intensive commercialization of this species ⁶. S. mahagoni thrives in subtropical areas where temperatures ranging from 16 to 32 deg. C and there is a moderate amount of rainfall varying from 1250 to 2500 mm. Organisms with a habitat similar to the mahogany include the Stone breakers, Sweet Orange, Hot peppers , Kiss-me-quick , and Curare.

     The mahogany tree thrives in moist soils and varies in its texture and grain according to the nature of the soil. The wood of trees of low and richer lands tend to be more porous and paler in color to that of those in rocky soil whose grain is very hard and beautifully shaded. Since it has been commercially sought after, the tree only exists in places of difficult access. Once covering the low lands of Jamaica and other Caribbean islands, it is now only found in the hills.

Habitat Dangers

Apart from over-commercialization by humans, soil erosion, hurricane damage and shoot borer attack² are main concerns for the West Indies Mahogany tree as far as environmental damages go. Enrichment planting has been used for regenerating tropical forests, mostly for commercial use, but has not been found to be an effective source in regenerating these valuable trees.

 Adaptation >