Swietenia humilis

Swietenia humilis
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Meliaceae
Genus:	Swietenia
Species:	S. humilis
Binomial name
Swietenia humilis Zuccarini

Swietenia humilis is a tree species in the diverse Meliaceae family. The Genus Swietenia, the true mahoganies, is made up of three species: S. mahagoni, S. macrophylla, and S. humilis. The Latin, humilis, translates to small or dwarfish. S. humilis at 6 m. (20 feet) reaches one-fifth the height of S. mahagoni, and one-sixth the height of S. macrophylla.

The best descriptive vernacular name is Pacific Coast Mahogany. The lumber and wood trades have long called it Honduras Mahogany or Mexican Mahogany. It is locally known as Caoba del Pacifico, Caoba del Honduras, Caobilla, Cobano, Caobilla, Gateado, Sopilocuahuilt, Venadillo, Zapaton and Zopilote.

Distribution and habitat

The area of natural distribution is the dryer zones of the western Sierra Madre mountain range from Mexico through Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador. The distribution in Guatemala and Honduras bulges eastward from the Pacific Coast nearly to the Atlantic Ocean. In Honduras it also extends from the western Sierra Madre into the abutting northern Nicaraguan cordillera range. The northern half of the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica includes habitat. It is found at altitudes up to 1,200 m. (4,000 feet). Its habitat is dry deciduous forest, savanna, rough scrub, rocky hillsides and cultivated fields. Today, trees usually are seen as scattered and isolated individuals. Large specimens are rare.

International Legal Protection

The multilateral treaty CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) lists S. humilis in Appendix II (only saw-logs, sawn wood and veneers). Also it is covered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species Version 2011.1.

Biologically Active Compounds

Poison

The bark and seeds possess a stringent alkaloid reputed to be very poisonous. The extracts significantly inhibited the growth and feeding of third instar larvae of Tenebrio molitor (mealworms).

Medicine

The seeds of S. humilis are used in traditional medicine to treat chest pains, coughs, cancer and amoebiasis, and for their anthelmintic properties. Pharmacological studies of the seeds and bark have been ongoing since the 1990s.

References

• Zuccarini, Joseph Gerhard. Abh. Akad. Muench. ii (1831–36) 355.t.7.
• Pennington, T.D. and Sarukhan J. Arboles Tropicales de Mexico. 1988.
• Janzen, Daniel H. et al. Costa Rican Natural History. U of Chicago Press. 1983. pp. 331–333.
• World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. Swietenia humilis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 23 August 2007.
• http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/north_america_map2.htm (a relief map of North America including Mexico. Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua are a miniaturized extension).
• CITES: Appendix II
• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable. A1cd Version 2011.1.
• Journal of Natural Products. Vol. 56, No.9, pp 1567–1574. Septembher 1993.