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| Mystery seed pod |
In the grounds of the ASTT building in Federation Park, there's a tree with an unusual woody seed pod or capsule. I picked one up from the ground under the tree some time last year and asked around but nobody knew what it was. This is the seed pod:
I was there again a couple of weeks ago and tried to reach a sprig of leaves to help with identifying the tree. The branches were just beyond my reach but fortunately there was a man nearby and I asked him if he could break off a piece for me, which he kindly did. Not only that, when I asked him if he knew what the tree was, he absolutely did ... he said it's a Mahogany tree! This was a great surprise and unexpected, like meeting a famous person. I looked it up later on the internet and scanned the leaves as a record.
http://theplumtree2.blogspot.com/2012/04/mahogany.html
http://www.arkive.org/big-leaf-mahogany/swietenia-macrophylla/image-G15435.html
Evidently mahogany in general has been overlogged and is on the verge of extinction in many areas.
(P.S. If the blog seems to be more about botany than about art lately, this is temporary, just a few observations which I wanted to share).
