Toona ciliata
Small specimen of Toona ciliata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Meliaceae
Genus: Toona
Species:
T. ciliata
Binomial name
Toona ciliata
M. Roem.
Synonyms[2]
  • Cedrela febrifuga Blume
  • Cedrela kingii var. birmanica C. DC.
  • Cedrela serrulata Miq.
  • Cedrela toona Roxb. ex Rottler
  • Cedrela toona var. gamblei C. DC.
  • Cedrela toona var. grandiflora C.DC.
  • Cedrela toona var. multijuga Haines
  • Cedrela toona var. puberula C. DC.
  • Cedrela toona var. pubescens Franch.
  • Cedrela toona var. stracheyi C. DC.
  • Cedrela toona var. talbotii C. DC.
  • Surenus australis Kuntze
  • Surenus microcarpa (C. DC.) Kuntze
  • Surenus toona (Roxb. ex Rottler) Kuntze
  • Swietenia toona (Roxb. ex Rottler) Stokes
  • Toona ciliata var. pubescens (Franch.) Hand.-Mazz.
  • Toona ciliata var. sublaxiflora (C. DC.) C.Y. Wu
  • Toona ciliata var. vestita (C.T. White) Harms
  • Toona ciliata var. yunnanensis (C. DC.) Harms
  • Toona febrifuga var. cochinchinensis Pierre
  • Toona febrifuga var. griffithiana Pierre
  • Toona febrifuga var. ternatensis Pierre
  • Toona hexandra M.Roem.
  • Toona kingii (C. DC.) Harms
  • Toona longifolia M.Roem.
  • Toona microcarpa (C. DC.) Harms
  • Toona mollis (Hand.-Mazz.) A. Chev.
  • Toona sureni var. cochinchinensis (Pierre) Bahadur
  • Toona sureni var. pubescens (Franch.) Chun ex F.C. How & T.C. Chen
Freshly cut Toona ciliata plank

Toona ciliata is a forest tree in the mahogany family which grows throughout South Asia from Afghanistan to Papua New Guinea and Australia.[3][4]

Names

It is commonly known as the red cedar (a name shared by other trees), tone, toon or toona (also applied to other members of the genus Toona), Australian red cedar,[5] Burma cedar, Indian cedar, Moulmein cedar or the Queensland red cedar. It is also known as Indian mahogany.[6] Indigenous Australian names include Polai in the Illawarra. Woolia on the Richmond River, Mamin & Mugurpul near Brisbane, and Woota at Wide Bay.[7] Also called Ai saria in Timor-Leste.[8]

Description

The tree has extended compound leaves up to 90 cm with 10-14 pairs of leaflets which are narrow and taper towards the tip. Each leaflet is between 4.5 and 16 cm long. The species can grow to around 60 m (200 ft) in height and its trunk can reach 3 m (10 ft) in girth with large branches that create a spreading crown. It is one of Australia's few native deciduous trees, with the leaves falling in autumn (late March) and growing back in spring (early September). The new leaf growth is reddish pink in colour.

The tree produces masses of white flowers that are very small and tubular in shape. The fruits are green capsules which senesces to a brown colour and tear open into star shape to release seeds, which are small and winged.[9]

Habitat

In Australia, the tree's natural habitat is subtropical forests of New South Wales and Queensland, much of which has been extensively cleared. The Australian population was formerly treated as a distinct species under the name Toona australis.[10] The southernmost limit of natural distribution is on basaltic soils, growing west of the Princes Highway near the village of Termeil, south of Ulladulla, southern Illawarra, New South Wales.[11] It also occurs naturally at Norfolk Island.[12] The largest recorded T. ciliata tree in Australia grew near Nulla Nulla Creek, west of Kempsey, New South Wales and was felled in 1883.[13]

It grows best in an environment with high light levels, however in the relative darkness of the rainforest understorey, it is less susceptible to attack by the cedar tip moth. The cedar tip moth lays its eggs on the tree's leading shoot, allowing the larvae to burrow into the stem. This causes dieback and a multi-branched tree with little commercial value.[14] The tree exudes a chemical that the female cedar tip moth seeks out. This moth does not attack commercial plantings of Asian/African/Australian native meliaceas in South America. As a result, successful planting of Toona ciliata is being observed in many parts of Brazil, including genetic improvement and clonal production.

Uses

The timber is red in colour, easy to work and very highly valued. It was used extensively for furniture, wood panelling and construction, including shipbuilding, and was referred to as "red gold" by Australian settlers.[15] Heavily and unsustainably exploited in the 19th and early 20th centuries, almost all the large trees have been cut out and the species is essentially commercially extinct.[16] Availability of this timber is now limited.[17] Timber is currently also harvested in New Guinea.[18] Although it is not generally a viable plantation species, trees are regularly harvested by Forestry in the Atherton region of Queensland.

Other areas

The red cedar is widely planted in subtropical and tropical parts of the world as a shade tree and for its fast-growing aspect. It is grown in the Hawaiian Islands of the United States, and southern and eastern Africa. In parts of Zimbabwe and South Africa, it has naturalised; growing to maturity and spreading from seed.[19]

Reproduction and dispersal

Toona ciliata reproduces by seed. It is a prolific seed producer and establishes readily.[6] [20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Barstow, M. (2018). "Toona ciliata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T31332A68105144. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  2. ↑ "Toona ciliata M.Roem. — The Plant List". Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "PlantNET - FloraOnline". Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  4. ↑ "Toona ciliata". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  5. ↑ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Toona ciliata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Toona ciliata (Toon Tree)". BioNET-EAFRINET. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  7. ↑ Cedar & the Cedar Getters - James Jervis. Abridged from the J & Proc. of Roy. Austr. Hist. Soc. 25 (2), 1940. Historical Records of New South Wales, Vol.2, page 283. Forestry Commission of New South Wales
  8. ↑ "Timorese Plant Names and their Origins".
  9. ↑ Toona ciliata M.Roem. BioNET-EAFRINET - Keys and Factsheets
  10. ↑ "PlantNET - FloraOnline". plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au. Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  11. ↑ Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens
  12. ↑ "Red cedar tree in Lindsay Street". Toowoomba Regional Council. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  13. ↑ "NSW Wilderness Red Index". Archived from the original on 2009-09-30.
  14. ↑ "Australian Red Cedar".
  15. ↑ "Types of Timber". Time 4 Timber. Archived from the original on 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  16. ↑ Vader, John. (1987). Red Cedar. The Tree of Australia’s History. Reed: Sydney. ISBN 0-7301-0151-7
  17. ↑ "Red cedar". DAFF.
  18. ↑ "PNGTreesKey - Toona ciliata". Guide to the Trees of Papua New Guinea. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  19. ↑ "Flora of Zimbabwe".
  20. ↑ Jagdev Saw Mills
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