Toona ciliata
(toon)

Preferred Common Name

• toon

Other Scientific Names

• Cedrela australis F. Muell.
• Cedrela toona Roxb. ex Willd.
• Cedrela velutina DC.
• Toona australis (F. Muell.) Harms
• Toona microcarpa (C. DC.) Harms
• Toona ternatensis (Miq.) Bahadur

International Common Names

• English: Australian red cedar; Indian cedar; Indian mahogany; moulmein cedar; red cedar

Local Common Names

• Brazil: cedro-australiano
• China: Chinese mahogany
• Indonesia/Java: suren kapar; suren mal
• Indonesia/Moluccas: kukoru
• Indonesia/Sulawesi: malapoga
• Malaysia/Sabah: ranggoh; surian limpaga
• Myanmar: mai yom horm; moulmein cedar; taung tama; taw thamgo; thit kador
• Philippines: danupra
• Puerto Rico: tun
• Thailand: yom hom

EPPO code

• TOOCI (Toona ciliata)

Trade name

• red cedar

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Rutales
•                         Family: Meliaceae
•                             Genus: Toona
•                                 Species: Toona ciliata

The genus Toona (family Meliaceae) extends from eastern Pakistan through South-East Asia and southern China to eastern Australia (Edmonds, 1995). In the most recent revision of the genus, Edmonds suggested that Toona (family Meliaceae) only consists of four to five wide-ranging and variable species, namely T. sinensis (A. Juss.) M. Roem., T. fargesii A. Chev., T. sureni (Blume) Merr., T. ciliata M. Roem. and possibly T. calantas Merr. & Rolfe; the last species may be a large-fruited variant of T. ciliata (Edmonds, 1995). Toona is closely related to Cedrela, which has been repeatedly united with and separated from Toona since 1840. Cedrela can be differentiated from Toona by the columnar androgynophore, which is longer than the ovary, and by its seedlings which have entire leaflets (Edmonds, 1995). Species of Toona are extremely variable, especially in vegetative morphology, leading to an unstable taxonomic history. Edmonds (1995) considered Toona species to exhibit a phenomenal range of morphological variation even within and between trees in the same population, and that many of the features used by earlier workers to define taxa are only slight morphological variants. The Australian red cedar, Toona australis (F.Muell.) Harms, was placed within Edmonds’ (1995) concept of T. ciliata, and this status has been accepted by Australian botanical authorities. D. J. Mabberley, a world authority on the Meliaceae, supports Edmonds’ 1995 revision (J. Doran, CSIRO, Forestry and Forest Products, personal communication, 1998).

The ‘hairiness’ of the floral filaments and leaves feature prominently in the taxonomic treatment of T. ciliata. Edmonds (1995) noted that the species does exhibit considerable variation in filament pubescence. T. ciliata was first described from India where the filaments are characteristically glabrous and this variant extends eastwards to Hainan Island, southern China. Plants with glabrescent or sparsely pilose/villous filaments show a more restricted distribution within this Northern Hemisphere range. The taxon T. ciliata var. vestita was originally recognised for Australian plants with a very dense velvet-like covering of rather long hairs on the undersides of adult leaves (White, 1920), but was later rejected by Edmonds (1995).

Overall

T. ciliata is a tall, fast-growing, deciduous tree, typically reaching a height of around 20–30 m tall (Wagner et al., 1999), and with stem diameters above buttresses of 3 m, but reaching up to 40 m high (Hua and Edmonds, 2008). The crown is typically spreading and rounded in outline (Hua and Edmonds, 2008). Individuals have been reported up to 35.7 m tall in Hawaii (Little & Skolmen, 1989), and up to 54.5 m tall in New South Wales (Boland et al., 2006). The bark is grey to brown, fissured and flaky (Hua and Edmonds, 2008).

Foliage

The leaves are pinnately compound, usually with 9–17 leaflets (Wagner et al., 1999). Each leaflet is lanceolate and 45–160 mm long, with the whole leaf being around 300–600 mm long (Wagner et al., 1999). The leaflets are hairless or sparsely hairy (Wagner et al., 1999).

Flowers

The flowers of Toona are borne in large, pendent, densely-branched panicles (Hua and Edmonds, 2008). There are separate male and female flowers, although vestiges of the non-functional sex are usually present (Hua and Edmonds, 2008). The flowers are pentamerous and sweetly scented (Hua and Edmonds, 2008), with 1-mm-long sepals surmounted by white petals, each 5–6 mm long, with ciliate margins (Wagner et al., 1999).

Fruits

The fruits of T. ciliata are dry, oblong capsules with five valves and thin walls, typically 20–30 × 8–12 mm (Boland et al., 2006). There are around 5 seeds per loculus, each 10–20 × 3–5 mm, light brown and membraneously winged at one or both ends (depending on the part of the columella to which it was attached) (Boland et al., 2006). One wing of this samara is typically 5–15 mm long, and the other half that length (Wagner et al., 1999).

T. ciliata has been introduced to tropical Africa, tropical parts of Central America and South America, the Seychelles and a number of islands in the Pacific Ocean. T. ciliata is invasive in Tonga, although few details are available. It is considered invasive in the South African provinces of Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo (Invasive Species South Africa, 2012).

T. ciliata is naturalised on all the Hawaiian high islands (Wagner et al., 2012). It was introduced in 1918 for forestry plantations, using stock from Australia (Little and Skolmen, 1989). From 1959 to 1973, the Hawaii Division of Forestry planted about 5000 acres of T. ciliata using seed of Australian origin (Walters and Wick, 1973). In 1989, there were reported to be 2300 acres (c. 930 ha) of T. ciliata, with “the best stand” being that planted in 1924 at Round Top Drive, Honolulu (Little and Skolmen, 1989).

Because of its high-quality timber, the species has been trialled in many countries. It has been extensively tested in Hawaii and Central/South America (Argentina and Costa Rica), Sri Lanka and Africa (Republic of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania). The species has been grown on small South Pacific oceanic islands such as Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and the Solomon Islands (Streets, 1962). T. ciliata has performed well in areas free of the cedar tip moth, Hypsipyla robusta. The species is not attacked by H. grandifolia (of South American origin) and grows successfully in areas where this moth occurs.

Soil drainage

• free
• seasonally waterlogged

Soil reaction

• acid
• neutral

Soil texture

• heavy
• medium

T. ciliata spreads by wind dispersal of its seeds (Invasive Species South Africa, 2012), and cut roots will produce suckers (Lemmens, 2008).

T. ciliata out-competes indigenous species in South Africa, particularly in forested areas and along river banks; it is covered by that nation’s Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act 2002, and has been proposed for listing under the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (Invasive Species South Africa, 2012).

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Has a broad native range
• Abundant in its native range
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Highly mobile locally
• Long lived
• Fast growing
• Has high reproductive potential

• Threat to/ loss of native species

• Rapid growth
• Rooting

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately

T. ciliata is mostly grown for its versatile timber, which is used for building houses and ships, and for high-value goods such as furniture, musical instruments, carvings, and numerous other uses (Lemmens, 2008). The flowers yield a reddish dyestuff, while the bark is used to tan leather or to produce string (Lemmens, 2008). Traditional medicine makes use of various parts of the plant, chiefly the bark and leaves (Lemmens, 2008). The leaves are widely used as an animal fodder in India (Edmonds, 1993). T. ciliata is commonly cultivated as an avenue tree in India (Edmonds, 1995) and as an ornamental and wayside tree throughout much of tropical Africa and Asia (Fenton et al., 1977).