(n) shrubby tree widely distributed along tropical shores; yields a light tough wood used for canoe outriggers and a fiber used for cordage and caulk; often cultivated for ornament, Syn. mahagua, balibago, majagua, Hibiscus tiliaceus, purau
(n) erect forest tree of Cuba and Jamaica having variably hairy leaves and orange-yellow or orange-red flowers; yields a moderately dense timber for cabinetwork and gunstocks, Syn. mahagua, majagua, mahoe, Hibiscus elatus, blue mahoe
(n) pantropical tree of usually seacoasts sometimes cultivated as an ornamental for its rounded heart-shaped leaves and showy yellow and purple flowers; yields valuable pink to dark red close-grained wood and oil from its seeds, Syn. bendy tree, Thespesia populnea, seaside mahoe
n. (Bot.) A name given to several malvaceous trees (species of Hibiscus, Ochroma, etc.), and to their strong fibrous inner bark, which is used for strings and cordage. [ 1913 Webster ]