Toona

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Toona
Starr 030405-0246 Toona ciliata.jpg
Toona ciliata (Type species)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Meliaceae
Subfamily: Cedreloideae
Genus: Toona
(Endl.) M.Roem. [1]
Species

See text

Synonyms [2]

Toona, commonly known as red cedar, [3] toon (also spelled tun) or toona, tooni (in India) is a genus in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, native from Afghanistan south to India, and east to North Korea, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. [4] In older texts, the genus was often incorporated within a wider circumscription of the related genus Cedrela , but that genus is now restricted to species from the Americas.

Contents

Uses

Chinese Toon tree (Toona sinensis) ToonaSinensis.jpg
Chinese Toon tree ( Toona sinensis )

Ornamental use

Toona sinensis is of interest as by far the most cold-tolerant species in the Meliaceae, native in China as far north as 40°N in the Beijing area, where its tender shoots, called xiangchun (Chinese :香椿; pinyin :xiāngchūn), are a traditional local leaf vegetable. It is the only member of the family that can be cultivated successfully in northern Europe, where it is sometimes planted as an ornamental tree in parks and avenues. Until recently,[ when? ] it had no widespread English common name, though Chinese Mahogany (reflecting its botanical relationship) is now used (e.g. Rushforth 1999). [5]

Wood source

Toona ciliata is an important timber tree. It provides a valuable hardwood used for furniture, ornamental panelling, shipbuilding, and musical instruments like the sitar, rudra veena, and drums. Due to the restrictions in recent years on the use of natively-grown American mahogany, [6] it has become one of the common mahogany replacements in electric guitar manufacturing.

Medicinal and culinary uses

Toona sinensis is used in Chinese traditional medicine and eaten as a vegetable or sauce in China (leaves and shoots).

Species

Philippine mahogany (Toona calantas) fruit and seeds Toona calantas (Philippine mahogany) seeds - 7.jpeg
Philippine mahogany ( Toona calantas ) fruit and seeds

As of 11 April 2024, six species are recognised by Plants of the World Online, [2] as follows:

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Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus Swietenia, indigenous to the Americas and part of the pantropical chinaberry family, Meliaceae. Mahogany is used commercially for a wide variety of goods, due to its coloring and durable nature. It is naturally found within the Americas, but has also been imported to plantations across Asia and Oceania. The mahogany trade may have begun as early as the 16th century and flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries. In certain countries, mahogany is considered an invasive species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meliaceae</span> Family of plants commonly known as the Mahogany family

Meliaceae, the mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs in the order Sapindales.

<i>Celtis</i> Genus of plants

Celtis is a genus of about 60–70 species of deciduous trees, commonly known as hackberries or nettle trees, in the hemp family Cannabaceae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution.

Mahogany refers to dark-colored wood from various types of tree.

<i>Stewartia</i> Genus of plants

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<i>Dysoxylum</i> Genus of plants in the family Meliaceae

Dysoxylum is a genus of rainforest trees and shrubs in the flowering plant family Meliaceae. About 34 species are recognised in the genus, distributed from India and southern China, through southeast Asia to New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Australia. The name Dysoxylum derives from the Greek word ‘Dys’ meaning "bad" referring to "ill-smelling" and ‘Xylon’ meaning "wood".

<i>Toona ciliata</i> Species of tree

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

<i>Toona sinensis</i> Species of tree

Toona sinensis, commonly called Chinese mahogany, Chinese cedar, Chinese toon, beef and onion plant, or red toon is a species of Toona native to eastern and southeastern Asia, ranging from northern Korean peninsula through most of eastern, central, and southwestern China, in Nepal, northeastern India, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, and even present in Malaysia and western Indonesia.

<i>Xylocarpus</i> Genus of flowering plants

Xylocarpus is a genus of plants in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It contains 3 described species, all of which are mangroves. The native range of the genus is the coasts of the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and the western Pacific Ocean. It is the only mangrove genus in Meliaceae.

<i>Didymocheton</i> Genus of flowering plants

Didymocheton is a genus of flowering plants in the family Meliaceae. It includes 41 species which range from eastern India through Indochina and southern China to Malesia, Papuasia, eastern Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.

Goniocheton is a genus of flowering plants in the family Meliaceae. It includes four species which range from Indochina to south-central China, Taiwan, Malesia, Papuasia, Vanuatu, and Queensland.

Prasoxylon is a genus of flowering plants in the family Meliaceae. It includes seven species which range from Nepal and eastern India through Indochina to southern China, Taiwan, Malesia, Sri Lanka, Papuasia, and Queensland.

<i>Toona sureni</i> Species of tree

Toona sureni is a species of tree in the mahogany family. It is native to South Asia, Indochina, Malesia, China, and Papua New Guinea. It is commonly known as the suren toon, surian, limpaga, iron redwood or the red cedar. It is also known as the Indonesian mahogany or the Vietnamese mahogany. The species is a valuable timber tree.

Azadirachta excelsa, commonly known as sentang, is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. The specific epithet excelsa is from the Latin meaning 'lofty'.

<i>Chisocheton</i> Genus of flowering plants

Chisocheton is a genus of trees in the family Meliaceae. The genus name comes from the Greek schizos and chiton meaning "split tunic", referring to the lobed staminal tube of C. patens. Their range is from India and tropical China, throughout Malesia and south to New South Wales and Vanuatu.

Chisocheton pentandrus is a tree in the family Meliaceae. The specific epithet pentandrus is from the Greek meaning 'five man', referring to the five stamens of each flower.

<i>Goniocheton arborescens</i> Species of plant in the family Meliaceae

Goniocheton arborescens, commonly known in Australia as Mossman mahogany, is a small tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is native to rainforests of Malesia, Papuasia, Queensland and nearby islands.

<i>Epicharis parasitica</i> Species of plant in the family Meliaceae

Epicharis parasitica, commonly known as yellow mahogany, is a species of tree in the family Meliaceae; it grows primarily in tropical rainforests and is native to Taiwan, parts of Malesia, Papuasia, and northeast Queensland.

<i>Didymocheton gaudichaudianus</i> Species of tree in the family Meliaceae

Didymocheton gaudichaudianus, commonly known as ivory mahogany, is a species of rainforest tree in the family Meliaceae, native to Malesia, Papuasia, Queensland, and some southwest Pacific islands.

Dysoxylum acutangulum is a species of flowering plant in the mahogany family, Meliaceae. It is a tree native to Peninsular Thailand, Malesia, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and the Northern Territory and Queensland in Australia.

References

  1. "Genus: Toona (Endl.) M. Roem". Germplasm Resources Information Network. 1996-09-17. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
  2. 1 2 "Toona M.Roem". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
  3. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Toona". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  4. Mabberley, David (2008). Mabberley's Plant-Book (3 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 863. ISBN   978-0-521-82071-4.
  5. Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. London: HarperCollins.
  6. "Bigleaf mahogany | CITES".