mahogany

Timber from any of several trees found in the Americas and Africa. Mahogany is a tropical hardwood obtained chiefly by rainforest logging. It has a warm red colour and can be highly polished. True mahogany comes mainly from S. mahagoni and S. macrophylla, but other types come from the Spanish and Australian cedars, the Indian redwood, and other trees of the mahogany family, native to Africa and the East Indies. (True mahogany genus Swietenia, family Meliaceae.)

S. mahagoni is under threat due to its popularity in the West for use in musical instruments, furniture, and veneers. There are attempts to make it the first hardwood tree listed under the CITES convention (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).