Mahogany seedpod, open

The mahogany seedpod opening!

This is the seedpod I sketched last week:
http://naturesketchers.blogspot.com/2009/04/beauty-is-in-eye-of-beholder.html

The brown seed in the foreground has a wing on it, I presume for air travel away from the parent tree. The outer husks were falling off as I sketched and painted this one. Old Florida crafters used to insert a nail in the tip of the pod, and as the pod opened, it stayed together and made a flower-shaped ornament after it fully opened. Squint a bit and you can visualize what it would look like. I haven't seen any of these crafts in years, though.

I found a fascinating video of these pods on the tree from this site:

http://www.arkive.org/big-leaf-mahogany/swietenia-macrophylla/video-09b.html

It's a different species but they look identical (to me, anyway). The video shows how the pods open on the tree, which is pretty cool.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Mahogany or West Indies Mahogany is a tree that’s used widely for landscaping in our area. The tree shown was planted about five years ago as a sapling in our industrial area, and its about 25 feet high now. This is the mahogany that was used for furniture and cabinet making, although related species from Honduras, Africa, and New Zealand are used now (I had to research this for a recent cabinetry estimate!). Mahogany was found and logged out of old Florida from tropical hammocks near the Keys.

Last evening I watched as the storm clouds moved in and strong winds loosed the remaining brown leaves as a cool front moved over us. I saved two seedpods, and they’re slowly opening up. I’ve always wanted to document the process, and hopefully I won’t get too sidetracked to finish the series…

This tree has the most wonderful reddish bronze new growth coming out; the leaves are tiny at this point, only ¼ inch long. Otherwise, it looks like it can’t make up its mind about what to wear. There is a fully matured group of green leaflets on the west side of the tree and old dejected seedpods here and there. I don’t know if the leaves persisted from last year and stayed green while the other leaves turned brown and dropped, or if they are new over-achievers. For a young tree, this one has rough scars and a bit of a ratty look. This may not be the prettiest tree on the block right now, but the alien-like seedpods and the new growth are enough for me to enjoy sketching it!