Magical Mahogany: A Personal Encounter with One of Singapore's Most Commonly Seen Trees. Francis Lim weaves a fascinating story of the mahogany tree by blending together selected scientific facts with a rich concoction of medicinal folklore as well as elements like personal encounters, field studies and observations, experiments, and discoveries about the life and times of one of the world's best known tropical hardwood tree, the mahogany. The result is an endearing and engaging account of many aspects of this incredibly resilient and useful tree.