Short answers, pulled from the story.
Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber from three tropical hardwood species in the genus Swietenia, all indigenous to the Americas. The three species are Honduran or big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), West Indian or Cuban mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni), and Swietenia humilis. Honduran mahogany is the only genuine mahogany species commercially grown today.
The origin of the word mahogany is disputed. One theory, associated with F. Bruce Lamb, traces it to the Yoruba word m'oganwo, meaning the tallest or most high, carried to Jamaica by enslaved West Africans who applied the name to Swietenia trees. A competing theory, proposed by Kemp Malone in 1940, suggests it originated as a generic word for wood in a native Bahamian language. Neither explanation has been definitively accepted.
The United States is the leading importer of mahogany. Peru is the largest exporter, a position it took over from Brazil after Brazil banned mahogany exports in 2001. It is estimated that some 80 to 90 percent of Peruvian mahogany exported to the United States is illegally harvested, with the economic cost placed conservatively at $40-70 million USD annually.
Swietenia macrophylla, the most commercially abundant species, was placed on CITES Appendix II in 2003 due to concerns over illegal logging, mismanagement, and declining populations. It was the first high-volume, high-value timber tree ever listed on CITES Appendix II. The two other Swietenia species had been added to CITES appendices earlier, S. mahagoni in 1992 and S. humilis in 1975.
The Naval Stores Act 1721 removed all British import duties on timber from British possessions in the Americas, immediately stimulating the mahogany trade. Imports into England rose from 525 tons per year by 1740, to 3,688 tons by 1750, and reached more than 30,000 tons in 1788, the peak year of eighteenth-century trade.
Mahogany is used for boat construction and outdoor decking because it resists wood rot. It is also a tonewood prized in musical instrument making, used in the backs, sides, and necks of acoustic guitars, electric guitar bodies, and drum shells. Guitars featuring mahogany include many models from Martin, Taylor, and Gibson, as well as the Gibson Les Paul and SG electric guitars.