Big-leaf mahogany

The tree that built the colony of British Honduras – mahogany features on Belize’s coat of arms with the motto “Sub umbra floreo”.

Big-leaf mahogany is a tall tropical tree reaching 40–50 m, with a straight, buttressed trunk, pinnate leaves and large woody capsules that release winged seeds. It grows in humid and semi-humid lowland forests. Its reddish-brown wood, easy to work and resistant to pests, was one of the world’s most prized furniture timbers from the 18th century onwards. Because of overexploitation, trade in it is now controlled under the CITES convention.

Significance in the country

For two centuries mahogany logging was the mainstay of the British colony’s economy, and woodcutters holding an axe and a paddle support the shield on Belize’s coat of arms. The motto “Sub umbra floreo” (“Under the shade I flourish”) refers to the mahogany tree.

Where it grows

In lowland forests throughout the country, today most plentiful in the extensive forests of Cayo, Orange Walk (Rio Bravo) and Toledo districts; thinned out in many places by past logging.

More: Wikipedia (en)