Mahogany trees grow in several regions around the world. Primarily the trees grow in Central Africa, Caribbean islands, Central and South America, and in the Philippine islands. With so many different species of mahogany, the question becomes ‘what is real mahogany’? To answer this question lets examine some of the more popular mahogany species.
Honduras Mahogany
The heartwood color is reddish or yellowish when first cut. Over time it darkens to a deep rich red or brown. The sap wood is yellow or white. The grain from the trunk contains a fine plain stripe. Wood below a branch fork contains a swirling pattern.
Honduras mahogany grows from southern Mexico to the upper Amazon jungle. Due to aggressive harvesting over the centuries the Honduras species has been nearly harvested into extinction.
Honduras mahogany is also known as true mahogany, genuine mahogany and big leaf mahogany.
Cuban Mahogany
Cuban mahogany has been considered the wood of kings during the colonial period of Central and South America. The wood has a light reddish tan and darkens to a deep reddish brown with age. The grain from the trunk contains a fine plain stripe. Wood below a branch fork contains a swirling pattern.
Cuban mahogany was used in building many of the ships in the Spanish armada. It grew in the Caribbean islands was the most prized species. Due to aggressive harvesting over the centuries the Cuban species has been nearly harvested into extinction.
Famous American furniture makers in the eighteen century like Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton used Cuban mahogany. This brought mahogany into prominence for use in making fine furniture to present day.
Cuban Mahogany is also known as Santo Domingo mahogany, Caribbean mahogany and West Indian mahogany.
African Mahogany
African mahogany grows in central Africa from the western coast to the east. The wood has a more salmon tint to it. The grain tends to be more course than genuine mahogany (Cuban or Honduras).
Sometimes it is sold under the name ribbon strip mahogany. This is when the wood is quarter sawn the face has a ribbon like appearance. Again due to over harvesting over the centuries this wood is becoming harder to find.
Philippine Mahogany
Philippine mahogany grows in the Southeast Asian islands. The wood is a light to medium shade of red. It is a much lighter weight wood. For that reason for a long time it was considered an inferior wood and less desirable. Thus it was not aggressively harvested and is readily available in the hardwood lumber yard.
‘Other’ Mahogany
Lumber sellers attempt to sell substitute species of mahogany for some of the rarer species. Theses other mahoganies are mahogany; however, they are not the hard to find Cuban, Honduras, or African mahogany. Some of the more common substitute mahogany lumber comes from South America called Santos or Balsamo.
Enjoy building fine furniture projects out mahogany. Let’s also make sure that there will be mahogany available for our kids and grandkids to be able to build fine furniture out of.
Support mahogany conservation by looking for and purchasing mahogany that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Lumber that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council comes from sustainable managed forests.
