On the campus of St. Joseph High School there
are nine Mahogany trees.The species of the trees is known as
Swietenia mahogani. These trees were carefully studied and
observations were made.
The mahogany trees on campus all vary in size
age and beauty. The trees that were observed on the northern part of
the campus were not very big, however they may get bigger as time
proceeds. The bottom of the trees were painted white, perhaps to
serve as decorations on the campus and some flower pods were noticed.
The trees on the western part of the campus were some of the biggest
trees I have seen. There was no paint on them but they did have
flower pods on them.
The mahogany tree on the western part of the
campus that I observed was between 40-50 feet in height. It had a
broad trunk and semi-new leaves that were brilliant in color. There
were not many flower pods, but the few were big in size. A few birds
were spotted nesting in the tree. Other living things were found,
such as lizards, beetles and lichens.
The branches that were observed were very
small. The entire branch was around seven inches in length, and had
many multiple branches sprouting out of the main branch. It consisted
of many leaves.
The leaves on the branch were dark green. The
smallest measured about 1 inch and the biggest measured approximately
3 inches. The veins on the leaves were noticeable, as well as the
midribs.The stoma that were found on the leaf and observed more
closely under the microscope were small. They were very dark and had
openings.
The mahogany seeds are very unique. Their
design allows them to travel for distances in the wind. Beneath its
brown cover is a small, white seed no bigger than a penny.
In closing, we learn that the mahogany tree is
very easy to observe and learn about. Even though all nine trees on
campus are of the same species, they may have many differences. These
trees can be further observed using high-tech equipment, but even
with the naked eye, you can learn plenty.
On several days in the months of November and
December, the biology class of Brother James, studied and examined
several trees on the SJHS campus. These students examined the trees
as a part of the process of "Project Mahogany". This project had
several classes learning and writing about the different aspects of
mahogany. Students wrote poems and papers about the subject. The
project turned out to be very educational and important project to
give the students a better understanding of their surroundings.
In all there were a total of nine mahogany
trees examined and looked at by the biology students. Not every tree
was examined in depth, but all of them were at least acknowledged in
some way. Some were only looked at for basic characteristics such as
location and color. Each student was given a tree to study closely
The students per tree averaged around 3 or 4 in a group.
The students looked at several characteristics,
including size, branching, location and color. The tree I was given
to examine averaged to be about 30 feet tall and about 15 feet wide.
Around the trees were remains of old branches, leaves, seeds, ant
nests, and dead beetles. On the tree were also remains of staples
from papers about previous activities.
The branches of the tree I observed were
extremely plentiful. There were hundreds of branches attached to the
branches. The further away from the base of the trunk, the smaller
and thinner the branches got. Each branch looked to have at least ten
other branches connected to it somewhere. They were long and
extensive.
Leaves were also extremely abundant both on and
around the tree. The leaves were brought inside the classroom for
further study. Glue was applied to the leaf and then peeled off and
was put under a microscope for further observation. While under the
microscope, stomates were seen on the leaf. The stomate is an opening
between two guard cells in the epidermis of the plant leaf.
Also brought inside the classroom were the
seeds of the mahogany trees. The seeds were large and hard. The
outside of the seeds were rough and brown. The insides were orange,
yellow,and brown in color. Seeds were also observed in less detail
outside by the trees.
In conclusion, there were several important
steps to make this project the large success it turned out to be. The
many observations seen and recorded were a new and exciting way of
exploring nature that many of the students had never even thought
about. Project Mahogany should be continued or started again in other
schools across the island. Maybe next year we can choose another
plant to study?