At the present time it is not possible to con nect the market or local name of many of the tropical woods with the specific scientific name of the trees producing them, for much sys tematic work in botany is necessary before this can be done. Indeed, as in some temperate woods, a group of species stands for the wood. Thus the term oak stands for several species of the genus Quercus and the trade term pine refers to a large number of species of Psnus and even to many other coniferous woods not of this genus. Also where adjectives are pre fixed to the market names, the name may in clude more than one species; several species of oak produce "white oak," and °southern yellow pine is the product of a number of species of Pinus. The same holds true for tropical woods. An attempt is made below to classify some of the principal groups of tropical woods. These include many of those that are found in Amer ican and European markets, and -a few that play an important role in the countries in which they occur.
I. The Mahogany Family 1. The °true mahogany originally came from Swietenia mahagoni lacy. and seems to be en tirely restricted to the West Indies and South ern Florida. Late investigations show that the Swietenias of southern Mexico, Central Amer ica and, perhaps, Colombia, are two different species and at least some of that from Vene zuela is a fourth species.
The wood of the four species is accepted as true mahogany, and when placed on the market usually bears the name of the place or region from which it comes. Thus we have Cuban, Santo Domingo, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexican, etc., mahogany. Santo Domingo mahogany is considered the most desirable grade. Through out this range the wood is locally known under the Spanish name of caoba. The different grades of mahogany vary in weight from 35 to 52 pounds per cubic foot, and cannot be con sidered as very heavy. Mahogany is red in color, beautifully grained, easily worked and is durable. It takes a natural polish, is adapted to stains and takes glue well. The combination of these qualities makes it the furniture wood par excellence of the world. Most of the. sub stitutes of true mahogany fail in one or more of these qualities and hence are inferior.
2. African Mahogany—The growing scarcity of easily-accessible true mahogany has led to the introduction of many woods as substitutes. The best of these belong to the same family (Meliacece). Under the general name of Afri can mahogany the tropical regions of West Africa have supplied large quantities of ma hogany. Perhaps the best known of these is
the Gambia or Senegal mahogany (Khaya senegalensis, A. Juss.), although other species of this genus and species of the genera Tri chilia, Carapa Entandrophragma and a number of species of other families furnish African mahogany.
3. Spanish cedar, Cigar box wood, Cedro. The above are the commercial names of a num ber of species of the genus Cedrela which occur throughout the American tropics from the West Indies and Mexico to Paraguay and northern Argentina. The original Spanish cedar (Ce drela odorata L.) appears to be confined to the West Indies and has a strong cedar odor, hence the name. It is used mostly for cigar boxes. Most of the Cedrelas of the American conti nent, known everywhere under the Spanish name of cedro, seem not to hold this strong odor when exposed to the air for some time. The wood of cedro closely resembles that of true mahog any in many respects, except that it is usually much softer and lighter in weight. The heavier grades are about the same weight as the light est mahoganies. There is little doubt that some of the so-called mahogany found in the markets is really cedro. Cedro is a common and much prized wood in the markets throughout all Latin American countries, especially in Argentina. It is used for furniture and light construction work, principally interior finish of houses. The genus Toona (formerly called Cedrela) found in parts of the eastern tropics produces woods almost identical with that of cedro. In the Philippines a species of this genus (Tonna calantas, Meer. & Rolfe) common name of calantas, and in India another species has the common name of loon.
4. Carapa or Demarara Mahogany (Guiana), Andiroba or Brazilian mahogany (Amazon re gion).— In the lowlands from the mouth of the Orinoco River (Venezuela), in the Guianas and to and including the Amazon Valley, is found a wood bearing the above names which is the product of Carapa guianensis Aubl. This wood resembles mahogany in some respects but is much coarser grained. It makes a good, cheap substitute for this wood, but is locally used for much the same purposes as cedro.
Besides the above woods all belonging to the mahogany family, together with others of less importance, there are a large number of species belonging to different families that ap pear in the markets under the name of mahog any. In all about 60 such species have been listed. The most important of these are dis cussed below in connection with the family to which they belong.