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Mahogany family
Meliaceae Juss.
センダン科
A family of trees distributed in tropical to subtropical regions. Approximately 50 genera and 600 species are known, including high-quality timber trees such as mahogany (Swietenia). In Japan, Melia azedarach (chinaberry) is native to Kyushu and Okinawa and is also planted on temple grounds.
Key Characteristics
- ●Leaves pinnately compound, alternate
- ●Flowers 5-merous with stamens fused into a tube (staminal tube)
- ●Fruit diverse: berries, capsules, or drupes
- ●Many species contain insect-repellent compounds (triterpenoids)
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite
Leaf type
Compound / Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Serrate / Dentate / Entire / Crenate
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Compound type
Pinnate / Ternate / Bipinnate
Stipules
Absent
Latex
Present
Aromatic
Aromatic
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
5 petals
Petal fusion
Free / Fused
Ovary position
Superior
Stamen count
1-2
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Sapindales > Meliaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (ca. 80 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Evolution of the staminal tube (fused stamen tube)
- ・History of human utilization and transplantation as tropical timber resources
Plants in Mahogany family on this site
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