Caoba, mahogany, tree fruit pods along Guatemala highway CA-9

In October we visited Lagunita Creek for the third time during the Documentation of Livingston, Izabal Project. This time the atmosphere was more humid than the last times we have visited it. Therefore, we find various mushrooms on the trails that we want to show you.

As you drive from Guatemala City towards Rio Dulce (en route to Peten) you will see giant mahogany trees all along the highway in El Progresso and Zacapa areas. The mahogany trees are easiest to recognize from October onward when the giant seed pods are visible.

I have been driving this road since the 1970’s. so am familiar with these beautiful trees and their large seed pods (the size of a large pine cone, but smooth).

This week (November 11, 2021), I kept seeing these pods but they were a white color, not the soft brown color of a mature pad that I was used to. So finally I stopped to take some snapshots. Our telephoto lenses were all packed in the back of the vehicle so I had only an iPhone 13 Pro Max available to take snapshots.

We were en route to Rio Dulce, to stay as guests of the owner of Marina and Hotel El Tortegal, along the Rio Dulce south of the highway bridge.

Swietenia macrophylla King, plant family Meliaceae, mahogany in English, caoba in Spanish.