| Dysoxylum | |
|---|---|
| Kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta |
| Class: | Eudicotyledoneae |
| Subclass: | Rosidae |
| (unranked): | Eurosids II |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Meliaceae |
| Genus: | Dysoxylum Blume |
| Species | |
|
About 70, see text |
|
Dysoxylum is a flowering plant genus in the mahogany family (Meliaceae). There are about 70 species, mainly trees, occurring from Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, New Caledonia and through to other parts of the western Pacific Ocean. Australian species are known as "rosewoods", though they are not closely related to the true rosewoods (Dalbergia) which are legumes.
These trees are important components of the native rainforest of their range, such as the lowland New Caledonia rain forests or Australian temperate rainforest.
The Australian species were prized for their wood which is a rich red in colour and was widely used in the furniture trade. The common name for the Australian species is the rose mahogany. The New Zealand species, Kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile), is sometimes known as New Zealand Mahogany, because its wood is light, strong and polishes to a fine red colour. D. densiflorum, locally known as majegau, is the floral emblem of Bali.
The Tooth-billed Pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris) feeds mainly on the fruits of the Dysoxylum trees growing in its native Samoa. Foliage of D. muelleri provides food for caterpillars of the Hercules Moth (Coscinocera hercules). Among the better-known pathogens affecting this genus is Pseudomonas syringae pv. dysoxylis which often initiates frost damage in Kohekohe
The genus Dysoxylum has a number of synonyms:
