කියුබන් මැහෝගනී/මැහෝගනී[Cuban Mahogany/Mahogani] (Swietenia mahagoni)

Native plant of tropical American rain forests. Introduced to Sri Lanka around 1840 as an ornamental and shade tree and has been cultivated  as a woody plant in forest plantations in the intermediate zone. The particular tree of which these pictures were taken at the new court complex premises of Negombo was declared on 28th June, 2011 as a protected monument under the Antiquities Ordinance (http://documents.gov.lk/gazette/2011/PDF/Jul/22Jul2011/I-I(E)2011.07.22.pdf). However it was wrongly identified in it as an Oak tree though it is not so*.

* See post added by Dr. Siril Wijesundara in the Nature Facebook group on 19th February 2013 (https://www.facebook.com/groups/protectnature/permalink/572647876081262/)