Cedrela salvadorensis

Description

Cedrela salvadorensis is a species that belongs to the Meliaceae family, some of its common names in Mexico are: cedar, male cedar (Chiapas); cuachichile (Matamoros); cimarrón walnut (Guanajuato); Chinese cedar, fine cedar, fragrant cedar (Oaxaca); aj (in Mixe, Oaxaca); aluquec, elalu-quec (in Chontal, Oaxaca); mañu, mañin (in Chinanteco, Oaxaca). Tree 4 to 15 m tall, with a diameter of 25 cm to 80 cm, short stem, branched at low height, frequently crooked. The outer bark greyish, in some places reddish brown or dark brown; the inner bark measures 5 mm and the outer 7 mm, it has a garlic odor, and a scaly bitter taste, with irregular scales, scaly or fissured detachment. Compound, alternate, paripinnate leaves, 20-85 cm long; petioles densely puberulent. Leaflets 5-8 pairs, 9-14.5 (up to 20) cm long and 3.4-10.2 cm wide; the central axis is 12 to 84 cm long with 6-12 pairs of leaflets with petioles 2 to 5 mm long; the blade has an elliptical-oblong to oblong-lanceolate shape, the apex is obtuse, rarely acute or short-acuminate, it is 4-25 cm long and 2-14 cm wide, with smooth edges, leaflets are hairy or pubescent on the underside. They are light green in color. Inflorescence axillary, in branched panicles sometimes shorter than the leaves, 5-20 cm long. The flowers are whitish to slightly pink on pedicels up to 1 mm long; campanulate calyx 2 mm long; five oblong petals 6 mm long, pubescent; they have five stable, five-celled ovary pistils. The fruits are long woody capsule, claviform to obovoid, grayish-brown in color, with a warty or tuberculate appearance with 5 very noticeable valves when opened when ripe, 6.5-15 cm long, the peduncle is 3 to 10 cm long ; the seeds are brownish, winged, 3.5-6 cm long including wing 2, 3 and 5. in branched panicles sometimes shorter than leaves, 5-20 cm long.