''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family,

Meliaceae Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs (and a few herbaceous plants, mangroves) in the order Sapindales. They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules, and by syncarp ...

. They are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

or dry-season

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s with pinnate

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

, native to the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and subtropical New World, from southern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

south to northern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Taxonomy

These species are currently accepted: *''

Cedrela angustifolia ''Cedrela angustifolia'' is a species of tree in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. Local common names include ''cedro de Tucumán'', ''cedro bayo'', ''cedro coya'', and ''cedro del cerro''. It is native to South America, where it occurs in Argentin ...

'' Sessé & Moc. ex C.DC. – Argentina,

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

*''

Cedrela discolor ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina. ...

'' S.F. Blake *''

Cedrela dugesii ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina. ...

'' S.Watson *''

Cedrela fissilis ''Cedrela fissilis'' is a species of tree in the family Meliaceae. It is native to Central and South America, where it is distributed from Costa Rica to Argentina.Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

south to Argentina *''

Cedrela kuelapensis ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaf, leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Arge ...

'' T.D. Penn. & Daza *''

Cedrela longipetiolulata ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina. ...

'' Harms *''

Cedrela molinensis ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaf, leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Arge ...

'' T.D. Penn. & Reynel *''

Cedrela monroensis ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina. ...

'' T.D. Penn. *''

Cedrela montana ''Cedrela montana'' is a species of tree in the Meliaceae family. It is found in the Andes of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru between 1050 – 3600 meters of elevation. Description Trees up to 20 m (~60 ft) tall, trunk with fissured b ...

'' Moritz ''ex'' Turcz –

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

& Ecuador *''

Cedrela nebulosa ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina. ...

'' T.D. Penn. & Daza *''

Cedrela odorata ''Cedrela odorata'' is a commercially important species of tree in the chinaberry family, Meliaceae, commonly known as Spanish cedar or Cuban cedar; it is also known as cedro in Spanish. Classification The genus ''Cedrela'' has undergone two m ...

'' L. –

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

and from 24° N in Mexico south to 28° S in

*''

Cedrela oaxacensis ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaf, leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Arge ...

'' C.DC. & Rose *''

Cedrela saltensis ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina. ...

'' M.A. Zapater & del Castillo *''

Cedrela salvadorensis ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina. ...

'' Standl. –

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

*''

Cedrela tonduzii ''Cedrela tonduzii'' (edar, cedrillo, cedro, cedro cebolla, cedro colorado, cedro dulce, cedro granadino, cedro macho, cedro pochote, West Indian cedar) is a monoecious tree that grows up to 40 m and can reach a diameter at breast height of ...

'' C.DC. – Central America *''

Cedrela weberbaueri ''Cedrela'' is a genus of several species in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina. ...

'' Harms

Distribution and habitat

'' is the most common species in the genus, widespread in seasonally dry tropical and subtropical forests; it is deciduous in the dry season which may last several months. '' C. angustifolia'' and '' C. montana'' occur at higher altitudes in moister conditions, and are evergreen or only briefly deciduous. Semillas de Cedro

Uses

'' is a very important

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

tree, producing a lightweight fragrant wood with very good resistance to

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

s and other wood-boring insects, and also rot-resistant outdoors. The wood is often sold under the name "Spanish-cedar" (like many trade names, confusing as it is neither Spanish nor a cedar), and is the traditional wood used for making

cigar box A cigar box is a box container for cigar packaging. Traditionally cigar boxes have been made of wood, cardboard or paper. Spanish cedar has been described as the "best" kind of wood for cigar boxes because of its beautiful grain, fine textu ...

es, as well as being used for general outdoor and construction work, paneling and veneer wood. It is also used for the necks and linings (interior strips of wood that attach the top and bottom of the guitar to the sides) of classical guitars, as well as bodies and necks of some electric guitars. Some species are now

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

-listed, in particular ''Cedrela odorata''. It is also grown as an ornamental tree, and has become

naturalized Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

in some areas in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, southeast

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. The other species have similar wood, but are less-used due to scarcity.

References

External links

CITES database entrance
{{Taxonbar, from=Q162792 Meliaceae genera