Meliaceae
Toona
EOL Text
Monoecious tree. Leaves paripinnate. Leaflets entire (in ours). Flowers 5-merous, unisexual in large much-branched panicles. Petals 5, adnate to the short cushion-shaped androgynophore. Stamens 5; 1-5 thread-like staminodes sometimes present. Ovary 5-locular. Fruit a pendulous thinly woody septifragal capsule opening from the apex by 5 valves. Seeds (in ours) winged at both ends.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings, Flora of Zimbabwe |
Source | http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=812 |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:61
Specimens with Sequences:66
Specimens with Barcodes:47
Species:4
Species With Barcodes:4
Public Records:55
Public Species:4
Public BINs:0
Toona, commonly known as toon (also spelled tun) or toona, 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.[2] 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[edit]
Ornamental[edit]
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, it had no widespread English common name, though Chinese Mahogany (reflecting its botanical relationship) is now used (e.g. Rushforth 1999).[3]
Wood[edit]
T. 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,[4] it is the most sought after mahogany replacement in higher quality electric guitar manufacturing.[5]
Medicine and Food[edit]
T. sinensis (Chinese Toon) is used in Chinese traditional medicine and eaten as a vegetable in China (leaves and shoots).
Selected species[edit]
- Toona calantas Merr. & Rolfe – kalantas, Philippine mahogany, Philippine cedar[6]
- Toona ciliata M.Roem. (syn. T. australis) – Australian red cedar, Indian mahogany[7]
- Toona sinensis (A.Juss.) M.Roem. – Chinese mahogany or Chinese toon
- Toona sureni (Blume) Merr. (syn. T. febrifuga) – Suren, Indonesian mahogany[8]
References[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Toona. |
Wikispecies has information related to: Toona |
- ^ "Genus: Toona (Endl.) M. Roem.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. 1996-09-17. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
- ^ Mabberley, David (2008). Mabberley's Plant-Book (3 ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 863. ISBN 978-0-521-82071-4.
- ^ Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. London: HarperCollins.
- ^ http://www.cites.org/eng/prog/mwg.php
- ^ http://gaskellguitars.com/downloads/90.html
- ^ ASEAN Tropical Plant Database. "Toona calantas Merr. & Rolfe". National Institute of Environmental Research, Republic of Korea. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
- ^ "Toona ciliata Roem.". India Biodiversity Portal. Retrieved December 12, 2013.
- ^ "GRIN Species Records of Toona". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Retrieved 2011-04-21.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Toona&oldid=604949455 |