MAHOGANY

Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber derived from three

tropical hardwood species of the genus Swietenia, native to the
Americas and a member of the Meliaceae pantropical chinaberry family.
Mahogany is a commercially significant timber valued for its beauty,
durability, and color, and is used for paneling as well as the manufacture of
furniture, boats, musical instruments, and other products. The United
States is the largest buyer of mahogany, followed by the United Kingdom,
but Peru is the greatest exporter now, having surpassed Brazil when that
nation prohibited mahogany exports in 2001. It is believed that 80–90% of
Peruvian mahogany shipped to the United States is illegally harvested, with
the yearly economic impact of illicit logging in Peru estimated to be $40–70
million USD. It was projected that 57,000 mahogany trees were cut in 2000
to serve the US furniture trade alone.