Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_swietenia_mahagoni

West Indian Mahogany

Swietenia mahagoni

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About West Indian Mahogany

West Indian Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to southern Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean in seasonally dry tropical forest. Government forestry records document historical planting of Swietenia mahagoni on Kauaʻi. Planting evidence alone does not establish present survival, naturalization, abundance, or ecological impact. Current survival, naturalization, abundance and ecological effects are unconfirmed. Public occurrence is island-level only.

Kauaʻi evidence

Taxonomic identity, tree form, diagnostic morphology and island occurrence use the linked reviewed sources. Historical planting, cultivation, naturalization and invasive status are separate. Generated imagery is not occurrence evidence. The 1918–1959 Kauaʻi reforestation working register records 1,319 plants under Swietenia mahagoni across 5 entries dated 1927–1948. These are recorded planting quantities, not counts of surviving trees, and they do not by themselves establish current persistence, naturalization, or ecological impact. Source: Kauaʻi Reforestation Plantings 1918–1959 working register (user-supplied; reconciled 6 October 2026).

Names and classification

Scientific name: Swietenia mahagoni
Common names: West Indian Mahogany · Small-leaved mahogany
Other names: Swietenia mahagoni · West Indian mahogany · Small-leaved mahogany
Record type: Species

Kauaʻi occurrence and status

Kauaʻi occurrence: Recorded on Kauaʻi
Origin: Introduced
Conservation status: Not yet assessed
Evidence date: 2026-10-06
Evidence limits: Current survival on Kauaʻi, numbers, occupied habitat, reproduction and ecological effects are unconfirmed; historical planting does not establish naturalization.

Habitat and ecology

Habitats: Not yet assessed
Food and resource needs: Not yet assessed
Reproduction: Small flowers occur in axillary panicles; woody capsules split into five valves to release winged seeds. Kauaʻi flowering, fruit set, viability and recruitment are unconfirmed.
Shelter: Not yet assessed
Growth form: Evergreen or semi-deciduous tree

Threats and conservation

Monitoring: Not yet assessed
Data gaps: Current population extent and trajectory · Additional species-specific ecological and conservation sources

Process and seasonal context

Seasonal timing: Not yet assessed
Seasonal description: West Indian Mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Native to southern Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean in seasonally dry tropical forest. Government forestry records document historical planting of Swietenia mahagoni on Kauaʻi. Planting evidence alone does not establish present survival, naturalization, abundance, or ecological impact. Current survival, naturalization, abundance and ecological effects are unconfirmed. Public occurrence is island-level only.

Sources and further reading

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