Toona ciliata

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,{{PLANTS|id=TOCI|taxon=Toona ciliata|access-date=11 December 2015}} Burma cedar, Indian cedar, Moulmein cedar or the Queensland red cedar. It is also known as Indian mahogany. Indigenous Australian names include Polai in the Illawarra. Woolia on the Richmond River, Mamin & Mugurpul near Brisbane, and Woota at Wide Bay.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 Also called Ai saria in Timor-Leste.{{Cite web|title=Timorese Plant Names and their Origins|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316286147}}

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 {{convert|60|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height and its trunk can reach {{convert|3|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} 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.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

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.[https://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/eafrinet/weeds/key/weeds/Media/Html/Toona_ciliata_(Toon_Tree).htm Toona ciliata M.Roem.] BioNET-EAFRINET - Keys and Factsheets

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.{{Cite web|title=PlantNET - FloraOnline|url=https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=toona~ciliata|access-date=2021-11-20|website=plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney}} 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.Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens It also occurs naturally at Norfolk Island.{{cite web |url=http://www.toowoombarc.qld.gov.au/environment-and-waste/trees-and-plants/toowoombas-best-trees/10339-best-tree-07 |title=Red cedar tree in Lindsay Street |access-date=2015-01-27 |publisher=Toowoomba Regional Council}} The largest recorded T. ciliata tree in Australia grew near Nulla Nulla Creek, west of Kempsey, New South Wales and was felled in 1883.{{cite web | url = http://www.colongwilderness.org.au/RedIndex/NSW/newen99.htm | title = NSW Wilderness Red Index | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090930060301/http://www.colongwilderness.org.au/RedIndex/NSW/newen99.htm | archive-date = 2009-09-30 }}

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.agroforestry.net.au/main.asp?_=red%20cedar |title=Australian Red Cedar }} 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 meliaceae 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.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

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.{{cite web | url = http://www.time4timber.com.au/types-of-timber.html | title = Types of Timber | publisher = Time 4 Timber | access-date = 2009-01-21 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090120083309/http://www.time4timber.com.au/types-of-timber.html | archive-date = 2009-01-20 }} 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.Vader, John. (1987). Red Cedar. The Tree of Australia's History. Reed: Sydney. {{ISBN|0-7301-0151-7}} Availability of this timber is now limited.{{cite web |url=https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/forests-wood/properties-timbers/red-cedar |title=Red cedar |publisher=DAFF}} Timber is currently also harvested in New Guinea.{{cite web | url = http://www.pngplants.org/PNGtrees/TreeDescriptions/Toona_ciliata_M_Roem.html | title = PNGTreesKey - Toona ciliata | publisher = Guide to the Trees of Papua New Guinea | access-date= 2009-01-21}} Although it is not generally a viable plantation species, trees are regularly harvested by Forestry in the Atherton region of Queensland.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

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.{{cite web | url = http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw | title = Flora of Zimbabwe}}

Toona ciliata reproduces by seed. It is a prolific seed producer and establishes readily.{{cite web |url=http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/eafrinet/weeds/key/weeds/Media/Html/Toona_ciliata_(Toon_Tree).htm |title=Toona ciliata (Toon Tree) |access-date=January 27, 2015 |publisher=BioNET-EAFRINET}}

[http://jagdevgroup.in/ Jagdev Saw Mills]

Image:Toona ciliata - capsules and seeds.jpg|Toona ciliata - capsules and seeds

Image:Toona ciliata - germinating seeds.jpg|Toona ciliata - germinating seeds

Image:Toona ciliata - seedlings.jpg|Toona ciliata - seedlings

Image:Toona ciliata - red leaves.JPG|Toona ciliata - red leaves

Image:ToonaciliataMtKeiraSept24-00.jpg|Toona ciliata - red leaves in September, Mount Keira, Illawarra, NSW

Image:Toona ciliata Bark.jpg|Toona ciliata bark, tree near Macksville, New South Wales, Australia

Image:Toona ciliata, Long Gully.jpg|Stand of approximately 10 mature Toona ciliata, south of Drake, New South Wales, a rare sighting in this area

Image:2yearoldredcedar.jpg|Two-year-old red cedar, growing in a backyard, Casino, Australia

Image:Toona_ciliata_var._pubescens.jpg|A 60-year-old Toona ciliata var. pubescens in Hunan, China

Image:Toona ciliata Tamban State Forest.jpg|A stand of Toona ciliata near Kempsey, New South Wales

Image:Toona ciliata Barrington 40 metres.jpg|40-metre Toona ciliata, leafless in August, with epiphytic Dendrobium orchids at Barrington Tops, Australia

Image:Cedro bv 9 anos.jpg|Eight-year-old seedling-planted Toona ciliata, Campo Belo, southeast Brazil

Image:CEDRO 5 ANOS BV.jpg|Four-year-old - 17 meter cloned Toona ciliata, Campo Belo, southeast Brazil

Image:Viveiro clonal de cedro australiano.jpg|Clones production Toona ciliata, Campo Belo, southeast Brazil

• Cedar wood
• Macleay River
• Toona sureni

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080331095337/http://www.naturallyaust.com.au/11927.html Australian timbers]
• [http://www.nationalregisterofbigtrees.com.au/listing_view.php?listing_id=90 National Register of Big Trees]
• [http://www.lutherie.net/map_toona.gif Distribution Map]

{{Meliaceae genera}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2739400}}

ciliata

Category:Sapindales of Australia

Category:Trees of Australia

Category:Least concern flora of Australia

Category:Least concern biota of Queensland

Category:Flora of New South Wales

Category:Flora of Queensland

Category:Flora of Norfolk Island

Category:Flora of tropical Asia

Category:Flora of China