Khaya senegalensis (Desrousseaux) Adr. Jussieu, Meliaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Low risk, score: 0 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Swietenia senegalensis Desv.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: African mahogany, bisselon, dry zone mahogany, Gambian mahogany, Senegal mahogany

French: cailcedrat

Habit:  tree

Description:  "A tree with shining foliage, up to 100 ft. high, with wide dense crown and thick stem; sepals pale green; petals and staminal tube cream, the latter suffused pink below; stigma yellow.  Flowers normally 4-merous; ovary tapering into a slender style; fruit normally 4-valved, 4-6 cm in diameter; leaflets usually drying pale glaucous green, 3-4 (-7) pairs, oblong or oblong-elliptic, more than twice as long as broad, rounded or obtuse or shortly acuminate at apex, 6-12 cm long, 2-5 cm broad, with 8-16 main lateral nerves on each side of midrib" (Hutchinson & Dalziel, 1958; pp. 698-699).

"Cultivated timber tree to 30 m with odd-pinnate leaves to 25 cm long, the leaflets oblong-elliptic to 10 cm long, loose sprays of white flowers and 4-valved woody capsules with winged seeds" (Robertson, 1989; p. 37).

Habitat/ecology:  Widely grown as a street and timber tree. Has the potential to colonize disturbed tropical rainforests (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 114).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Africa

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 573) Voucher cited: DA 16425
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 101) Vouchers cited: Baumann 9947, MacKee 12092, MacKee 23285, MacKee 36232

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 114) Western Australia Naturalized

Comments:  Reported to be naturalizing in the area of Kimberley, Western Australia (Csurhes and Edwards, 1998; p. 114).

Additional information:
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.

Additional online information about Khaya senegalensis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Khaya senegalensis as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Khaya senegalensis may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

Other Latin names:  Swietenia senegalensis Desv.

References:

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Hutchinson, J./Dalziel, M.D./Hepper, F. N. 1954. Flora of West Tropical Africa, second edition. Crown Agents, London.

Jérémie, J./Mabberley, D. J./Morat, Ph./Veillon, J. M./Hallé, N. 1988. Hernandiaceae, Meliaceae, Oncothecaceae, Santalaceae. Flore de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et Dépendances. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. Vol. 15, 155 pp.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Robertson, S. A. 1989. Flowering plants of Seychelles. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 327 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 3. 758 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.