Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

family of mostly

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 and

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s (and a few

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

plants,

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

) in the order

Sapindales Sapindales is an order of flowering plants. Well-known members of Sapindales include citrus; maples, horse-chestnuts, lychees and rambutans; mangos and cashews; frankincense and myrrh; mahogany and neem. The APG III system of 2009 includes it ...

. They are characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s, and by syncarpous, apparently bisexual (but actually mostly cryptically unisexual)

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s borne in panicles, cymes, spikes, or clusters. Most species 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 ...

, but some are

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 ...

, either in the

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The te ...

or in winter. The family includes about 53 genera and about 600 known species, with a pantropical distribution; one genus (''

Toona ''Toona'', commonly known as redcedar, toon (also spelled tun) or toona, tooni (in India) is a genus in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, native from Afghanistan south to India, and east to North Korea, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. In ol ...

'') extends north into temperate China and south into southeast Australia, another (''Synoum'') into southeast Australia, and another (''Melia'') nearly as far north. They most commonly grow as understory trees in rainforests, but are also found in mangroves and arid regions. The fossil record of the family extends back into the Late Cretaceous. Fruits of Chisocheton paniculatus

Uses

Various species are used for

vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fat ...

soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

-making,

insecticide Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to b ...

s, and highly prized

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

(mahogany). Some economically important genera and species belong to this family: *

Neem tree ''Azadirachta indica'', commonly known as neem, nimtree or Indian lilac, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus ''Azadirachta'', and is native to the Indian subcontinent and most of the countries in Afri ...

''Azadirachta indica'' (India) *'' Carapa'': includes the "crabwood trees" ''e.g. Carapa procera'' (South America and Africa) *''

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 ...

'' Central and South America; timber also known as Spanish-cedar *''

Entandrophragma ''Entandrophragma'' is a genus of eleven known species of deciduous trees in the family Meliaceae. Description ''Entandrophragma'' is restricted to tropical Africa.Entandrophragma C. DC. in Bull. Herb. Boissier 2:582 t.21 (1894) At least some ...

'': includes

sapele ''Entandrophragma cylindricum'' is a tree of the genus '' Entandrophragma'' of the family ''Meliaceae''. It is commonly known as sapele or sapelli ( ) or sapele mahogany, as well as aboudikro, assi, and muyovu. Origin of the name The name ''sa ...

and "utile" or "sipo" (''E. utile'') of tropical Africa * ''Guarea'', the genus of ''Bossé'' or "pink mahogany" includes: '' G. thompsonii'' and '' G. cedrata'' (Africa) *''

Khaya ''Khaya'' is a genus of five tree species in the mahogany family Meliaceae. The timber of ''Khaya'' is called African mahogany, and is valued as a substitute to American mahogany (of the genus ''Swietenia''). Description The genus is native to ...

'' includes: Ivory Coast Mahogany and Senegal Mahogany (tropical Africa) *

Chinaberry ''Melia azedarach'', commonly known as the chinaberry tree, pride of India, bead-tree, Cape lilac, syringa berrytree, Persian lilac, Indian lilac, or white cedar, is a species of deciduous tree in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, that is native ...

or white cedar, ''Melia azedarach'' (

Indomalaya The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Indi ...

and

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

) * Santol (''

Sandoricum koetjape ''Sandoricum koetjape'', the santol, sentul or cotton fruit, is a tropical fruit native to maritime Southeast Asia (Malesia). Origin and distribution The santol is native to the Malesian Phytochorion, floristic region, but have been introduced t ...

''), grown for their edible fruit in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

and

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

Lanzones ''Lansium parasiticum'', commonly known as langsat (), lanzones (), or longkong in English; duku in Indonesian or dokong in Terengganu Malay, is a species of tree in the Mahogany family with commercially cultivated edible fruits. The species ...

(''

Lansium parasiticum ''Lansium parasiticum'', commonly known as langsat (), lanzones (), or longkong in English; duku in Indonesian or dokong in Terengganu Malay, is a species of tree in the Mahogany family with commercially cultivated edible fruits. The species ...

''), grown for their edible fruit in

*''

Swietenia ''Swietenia'' is a genus of trees in the chinaberry family, Meliaceae. It occurs natively in the Neotropics, from southern Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America south to Bolivia. The genus is named for Dutch-Austrian physician Ge ...

'' is the classic "mahogany" genus from the tropical

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

*''

'': the genus of "toon tree" species (tropical

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 ...

Malesia Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. It has been given different definitions. The ...

, and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

), especially ''

Toona ciliata ''Toona ciliata'' is a forest tree in the mahogany family which grows throughout southern Asia from Afghanistan to Papua New Guinea and Australia. Names It is commonly known as the red cedar (a name shared by other trees), toon or toona (also ...

Genera

Subfamily Cedreloideae

This is also known as subfamily Swietenioideae.

Subfamily Melioideae

Notes

References

* (1975): A generic monograph of the Meliaceae. ''Blumea'' 22: 419–540.

External links

Meliaceae
i
L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants.Project Meliaceae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q158979 Sapindales families