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{{SPlantbox
{{SPlantbox
|familia=Meliaceae
|familia=Meliaceae
|genus=Toona
|genus=Toona
|species=ciliata
|species=ciliata
|common_name=Australian red cedar, Red Cedar
|common_name=Australian red cedar, Red Cedar
|Max wd metric=ft
|Max wd metric=ft
|width_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|width_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|lifespan=perennial
|exposure=sun
|exposure=sun
|sun_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|sun_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|max_zone=12
|max_zone=12
|image=Upload.png
|image=Starr_020803-0078_Toona_ciliata.jpg
|image_width=240
|image_width=180
|image_caption=Small specimen of ''Toona ciliata''
}}
}}
'''Australian Red Cedar''' (called also '''Toon''', '''Suren''' or '''Indian Mahogany'''), ''Toona ciliata'' <ref>http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&showsyn=&dist=&constat=&lvl=sp&name=Toona~ciliata</ref> is a [[forest]] tree in the family [[Meliaceae]] which grows throughout southern [[Asia]] from [[Afganistan]] to [[Papua New Guinea]] and [[Australia]].<ref>http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?36753</ref> In Australia its natural habitat is now extensively cleared [[subtropical]] [[rainforest]]s of [[New South Wales]] and [[Queensland]]. The Australian population was formerly treated as distinct [[species]] under the name ''T. australis''. The species can grow to around 60m in height and its trunk can reach 3m in girth. The largest recorded ''T. ciliata'' tree in Australia grew near Nulla Nulla Creek, west of [[Kempsey, New South Wales]] and was felled in 1883<ref>http://www.colongwilderness.org.au/RedIndex/NSW/newen99.htm</ref>.
The southern most limit of natural distribution is on basaltic soils, growing west of the Princes Highway near the village of Turmeil, south of [[Ulladulla]], southern [[Illawarra]], [[NSW]].<ref>Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens</ref> It also naturally occurs at [[Norfolk Island]].
It is one of Australia's few native [[deciduous]] trees. 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<ref>http://www.time4timber.com.au/types-of-timber.html</ref>. Heavily and unsustainably exploited in the 19th Century and early 20th Century, almost all the large trees have been cut out and the species is essentially commercially extinct.<ref>Vader, John. (1987). ''Red Cedar. The Tree of Australia’s History''. Reed: Sydney. ISBN 0-7301-0151-7</ref><!--ISBN checked--> However, the timber is relatively fast growing and following on from a wave of tree cutting in the 1950s, regrowth and timber from forestry sources currently provides trees up to 1 metre in diameter for the furniture trade in Australia and timber is not difficult to source.{{Fact|date=August 2007}}
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 [[Hawaii]]an Islands and southern and eastern Africa. In parts of [[Zimbabwe]] and [[South Africa]], it has naturalised; growing to maturity and spreading from seed.<ref>http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw</ref>
==Cultivation==
==Cultivation==
<gallery perrow=5>
<gallery perrow=5>
Image:Upload.png| photo 1
Image:Red Cedar - Lamington National Park.jpg|Giant Red Cedar, [[Lamington National Park]], [[Qld]]
Image:Upload.png| photo 2
Image:Red Cedar - Mount Keira.jpg|Red Cedar, [[Mount Keira]], [[Illawarra]], [[NSW]]
Image:Upload.png| photo 3
Image:Red Cedar-healthy-July.jpg|Healthy Red Cedars in July, [[Barrington Tops]], [[NSW]]
Image:Toona ciliata - Sept13th.jpg|''Australian Red Cedar'' - New Growth in September, [[Allyn River]], [[Barrington Tops]], [[Australia]]
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:2yearoldredcedar.jpg|Two year old Red Cedar, growing in a backyard, [[Casino, New South Wales|Casino]], [[Australia]]
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]]
</gallery>
</gallery>
