Digital Species: February 2008

Tree Species Data Sheet for Digital Species

Species: Toona sureni

Name of collector: Kay Panzer
Date of collection: 22-09-2007

Part 1: Text information

- For every chapter give the sources right after the text (e.g. Text. [1]), then list all cited sources under ‘Part 2 - References’ at the bottom of this document.

A. Latin name(s):
Toona sureni (Blume) Merr. [16]

B. English name(s):
red cedar [12]

C. Synonym(s):
Toona febrifuga Roem.; Cedrela febrifuga Blume; Toona febrifuga (Blume) M.J. Roemer; Cedrela sureni (Blume) Burkill [16,26]

D. Other name(s) / Trade name(s):
suren (Indonesia-general); serijan, surian amba (Sumatera); surian wangi (Malaysia-Peninsular); danupra (Philippines-general); ye tama (Burma); surian (Thailand); Xoan moc; lat khet, truong van, ma nham; (Vietnam); cèdre de Cochinchine (French) [2,4,16].

E. Khmer name(s) (Khmer letters):
ឆាំឆារឺខ្លឹមចន្ទន៍

F. Khmer name(s) (Latin letters):
chham chha: khlüm chan [4]

G. Taxonomic position (complete):

Kingdom: Viridiplantae
Phylum: Spermatophytae
Sub-Phylum: Angiospermae
Class: Dicotyledonae
Order: Sapindales
Family: Meliaceae subfamily Swietenioideae
Genus: Toona (Endl.) M. J. Roemer [16]
Species: Toona sureni (Blume) Merr. [12]
Source: 4,11,16

H. Botanical characteristics (d)
Preliminary remark: The genus Toona comprises 4 or possibly 5 species and is distributed from Pakistan and China to Australia and it occurs widely throughout Malesia, where 3 or 4 species are found. [16]. T. calantas is occuring almost exclusively in the Philippines [16].

[General]: A large tree, up to 25-30 m high. Bole straight, cylindrical; young branchlets first covered by brownish-yellow tomentum, then glabrous [2]. Tree, 20-40 m tall,[4]. Large size tree, up to 35 m tall, up to over 100 cm diameter. Stem cylindrical, straight, base with buttress. Young branches dark brown [14]. A medium-sized to fairly large tree up to 40(-60) m tall, with bole branchless for up to 25 m and up to 100 cm in diameter, in mountainous areas up to 300 cm diameter; buttresses, if present, up to 2 m high [16].

[Bark]: Bark brown, sparsely lenticillate (2). Bark thick, brownish-grey, longitudinal fissures, bark peeling off [14]. Bark surface usually fissured and flaky, whitish, greyish-brown or pale brown; with aromatic odor when cut [16].
[Leaves]:Paripinnate, sometimes imparipinnate, 25-60 cm long. Leaflets 14-16 pairs (often 8 pairs), opposite or subopposite. Leaf-blade thin, 9-17 cm long 2.5-7.0 cm wide, tapering, mucronate at the apex, oblique at the base, margin entire, glabrous on both surf

aces, or only pubescent on the midrib and nerve axils. Lateral nerves 10-15 pairs , prominent beneath. Petiolule 0.5-1.5 cm long [2]. Leaves paripinnate, rarely odd pinnate, alternate. Leaflets 7-14 pairs, usually 8 pairs, nearly opposite, 8-17 cm long, 2.5-7.0 cm wide, elliptic, apex mucronate, base unequal, margin entire or crenulate. Leaf-blade glabrous, base of the midrib has a tuft of hairs, lateral veins 12-15 pairs conspicuous on lower surface [14]. Leaflets entire, usually hairy on veins above, petal margins, ovary and disc hairy [16].

[Flowers]: Flowers small, arranged into terminal panicles, same length as the leaf, or slightly shorter, covered with setae. Flowers white, 5 mm long, pedicel short. Sepals 5 very short, united at the base, obtuse, pubescent outside. Petals thin, white, oval, apex obtuse, 4-5 mm long, margin ciliate. Stamens 5, as long as the petals, or slightly shorter, anthers oval. Disc as long as the ovary, pubescent. Ovary setaceous, style glabrous, stigma discoid, 8-10 ovules in each loculus [2]. Inflorescence racemose, apical. Flowers bisexual, corolla white, margin with fine hairs. Stamens 5, free, nearly as long as petals, sometimes with staminodes. Disc (receptacle) stout, rounded, lobed, stigma cup-shaped, veins 5. Ovary tomentose, 5-locular, each locule containing 8-10 ovules [14].

[Fruit]: Fruit a capsule, oblong-oval, sparsely silvery-white lenticillate, 2.5-3.5 cm long. Seed has 2 wings at each end, about 1.0-1.5 cm long [2]. Fruit a capsule, elliptic, 3.0-3.5 cm long, 1 cm in diameter, fruit coat with many white spots. Seed flat, brilliantly brown, wings at both ends, irregular. Tree has a tap root system [14]. Columella of fruit concave with apical scarring, fruit valves rough and verrucose with conspicuous lenticels; seed winged at both ends [16]. Flowering in March-April, fruiting in December-January (of next year) [2].
Flowering January-February, fruit ripe for collection April-May, when black in colour [14].
In Java T. sureni flowers in May and bears fruit from July to October [16].

I. Wood properties: (n)
The following data on wood properties are averages obtained from a mix of Toona species, e.g. T. ciliata, T. sinensis, and T. sureni. Toona spp. are traded under the name of Surian as a light-weight hardwood [16].
Sapwood and heartwood distinct; sapwood pale yellow, heartwood brownish-pink, fragrant. Annual rings conspicuous, clearly delimited, 5-7 mm wide. Vessels single and double, short, distribution circle or semi-circle, usually there is a brown substance in the vessels. Rays small and medium with sweet-smelling essential oil. Paraparenchyma scanty and aggregate in terminal band. Parenchyma is also scattered in fibre mass. Wood medium position in hardness and weight, specific gravity of dry wood 540 kg/m³. Coefficient of volume shrinkage 0.

53. Grain saturation point 23%. Compression strength along the grain 507 kg/cm²; cleavage strength 12 kg/cm². Collision bending strength 0.52 [14].
Wood aromatic, reddish-brown, ribbed, soft and easy to work with [2]. Surian is a light-weight and comparably soft wood. Heartwood pale-red to reddish-brown, darkening to dark red-brown on exposure, clearly demarcated from the grey-white, pink or pale-red sapwood. Specific gravity is 270-530(-670)kg/m³ at 15% m.c. The grain is straight to interlocked, sometimes wavy, texture rather coarse and uneven. The wood often has an aromatic, cedar-like odour [16].
At 15% m.c. the modulus of rupture is 42-85 N/mm², modulus of elasticity 7,115-10,700 N/mm², compression parallel to grain 21.5-45.0 N/mm², compression perpendicular to grain 2-7 N/mm², shear 3-9 N/mm², cleavage 32-43 N/mm² radial and 36-52 N/mm² tangential; Janka side hardness 1,215-3,960 N, and Janka end hardness 2,585-4,605 N. The rates of shrinkage are moderately to fairly high: from green to 12% moisture content (m.c.) 1.1-4.0% radial and 2.6-7.0% tangential; from green to oven dry 2.1- 5.0% radial and 3.6-8.2% tangential. In Malaysia surian wood is reported to dry rapidly with only slight warping. However, elsewhere it is reported that the timber is somewhat refractory in drying and prone to warping, collapsing and cupping, particularly with thin planks. Close spacing of stickers and weighting of stacks is recommended. Boards 25 mm (1 inch) thick take 1-3.5 months to air-dry. In Malaysia kiln schedule J is recommended; boards 25mm thick can be kiln-dried from 50% to 10% m.c. in 3-6 days without any degrade.
The wood is easy to saw, cross-cut and plane and the planed surface is smooth. It takes a good polish. Some material tends to produce a wooly finish and it is therefore essential to use sharp tools. Mortising, turning, and sanding give moderate results, but boring sometimes gives poor results. The gluing and nailing properties are rated as good but the nail-holding strength is moderate. The timber peels well, and produces good-class veneer with a nice figure. It can be peeled into 1.5 mm thick veneer at a 90º peeling angle without pretreatment. Sometimes logs are liable to lateral and end splitting which may result in the veneer breaking during peeling. Surian veneer glued with urea-formaldehyde produces plywood complying with the German standard [16]. In Malaysia the wood is rated as non-durable. Reports from elsewhere indicate that the heartwood is moderately durable but susceptible to dry-termite and borer attack. The heartwood is resistant to impregnation with preservatives or may show an unsatisfactory penetration pattern, but the sapwood is permeable. Wood dust may irritate mucous mebranes or induce bronchitis or dermatitis.
Wood of T. sureni contains 61% cellulose, 27% lignin, 11.5 % pentosan, 0.8% ash and 0.5% silica. The solubility is 2.3% in alcohol-benzene, 3.0% in cold water, 6.5% in hot water, and 10.2% in a 1% NaOH solution. The energy value is about 21,870 kJ/kg [16].

J. Geographic distribution and vegetation: (a),(e)
T.sureni occurs in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Burma, Bangladesh, Indochina, southern China, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia (14), throughout Malesia to western New Guinea [2,16]. A tree of the dense coastal forest formations in SE Asia [4]. Grows mixed with many species in evergreen and semi-deciduous forest types [14]. T. sureni occurs in primary forests but is more common in secondary forest, often on riparian hillsides and slopes up to 1700(-2100) m elevation [16]. The area of distribution extends approximately from 40ºN to 10ºS [12].

K. Climate and environmental amplitude: (b),(c)
The species of Toona grow in tropical as well as near subtropical climates, from sea level to 3000 m, in Southeast Asia to 2000 m elevation above sea-level [14], 0-2300m [12]. Trees occur scattered in primary forests, but usually more numerous in secondary forests [16]. In Vietnam scattered in hilly regions or rocky hills, below 700 m asl. A light demanding tree, growing quickly (2). Prefers hot and humid climate, mean annual rainfall varying between (850)-1120-4000 mm/m² with a uniform distribution during the summer [12] and a dry season lasting 3-4 [14], 2-6 [12]) months. Lowest and highest mean temperatures range from 6ºC to 18ºC, and 28ºC to 45ºC, respectively [14].

L. Gene ecological zone in Cambodia:
Not determined

M. Soil and site conditions: (f),(g),(h),(i),(j)
Prefers deep, wet soil of high fertility [2]. It grows well on thick soil layer, sufficiently moist and with good drainage. It can grow on acid to neutral [12], acidic as well as alkaline soils [14]. Toona prefers deep, rich, moist, loamy soils with good drainage, the majority of species preferring alkaline soils. T. sureni demands fertile and moist soils [16], with a light to medium soil texture, free drainage and acid to neutral soil reaction [12].

N. Utilization and importance: (n),(o),(p)
[Wood): The wood can be used for joinery, sawing boards, and wood carving [2]. Surian is much in demand for cabinetry and construction [4]. Used for fences; gates; containers; pallets; crates; boxes; cases; vats; wood ware; industrial and domestic wood ware; tool handles; musical instruments; wood carvings; pencils; veneers; boats; wood based materials; plywood [12]. The wood is suitable for furniture manufacture, boards and structural elements requiring high strength [14]. Used as all surian timber for house building, and implements, furniture, joinery, cabinet work, decorative panelling, ceiling boards, packing cases, bent work, boat and canoe building, paddles, oars, piano cases, musical instruments, face veneer, plywood, carving, sculpture. [16]. The species is considered worth for reforestation [2].

[Non-Wood]: There are diiferent medicinal uses, e.g., an infusion prepared from the flowers is said to have an antispasmodic effect; decoctions prepared from bark and roots can lower fever and have antidysenteric effect [4]. Roots and seeds can be used for preparing medicines, the bark contains much tannin [14]. Various parts of the plant, especially the bark, are used in local medicine as adstringent, tonic and for treatment of diarrhoea. Leaf extracts are said to exhibit antibiotic activity. Trees are being planted as ornamentals, firebreaks, and in reforestation[16].
Bark fibres are pepared for manufacture of string bags; in India flowers are used to produce a red or yellow dye [16].

O. Cambodian wood classification: (n)
Not included [18].

P. Silviculture and management: (e),(l),(m)
The species is worth to be considered for reforestation because of its advantages such as fast growth, easy regeneration and high value of the wood [2]. Trial plantations have been established with T. ciliata in Africa, Latin America, Australia, Hawaii and West Java. Young plants need some shade, later full light, lateral shade is tolerated and useful in reducing Hypsipyla damage [16]. Young plants need protection against browsing by wildlife and against fire. Optimum rotation age is around 40 years thereafter increment diminishes. Mean annual increment ranges from 7-18 m³/ha . Hypsipyla robusta, the shoot borer is the main pest threatening plantations. The presence of a toxine in T. ciliata is promising for breeding Hypsipyla-resistant Meliaceae [16]. At present no forest planting models with T. sureni have been successful. There are only a few experimental enrichment and line plantings but the results are not yet satisfactory. The survival rate is low because of damage caused by the shoot borer. Possibly by planting in mixed plantations protection against the shoot borer is more effective [14].

Q. Propagation: (k)
The following information concerns predominantly Toona species other than T. sureni:
For Southeast Asia the following seed counts per kg have been made: T. calantas 83,000- 420,000; T. ciliata 280,000-425,000; T.sinensis 403,000-721,000; for T. sureni 64,000- 468,000. Fruits should be collected when they start to open. They are left to dry in the sun for several days and, after shelling, seed may be separated by winnowing. Fresh seed of T. ciliata showed 60-90% germination, but only 45% for T. sureni. Seed can be sown without any pretreatment in beds protected from direct sunlight and rain and covered thinly with fine sand. 2-4 weeks after germination the 5-10 cm tall seedlings may be transplanted. Direct seeding is uncommon because the fine seed may be easily washed away. Striplings at least 1 m long, short stumps (7cm shoot, 25 cm root), bare-rooted seedlings or seedlings with attached soil clump may be used for planting. Stumps of 1.5-2.5 cm diameter performed better than those with diameter 0.5- 1.25 cm. For enrichment line planting of depleted primary forest or poor secondary forest 1.5-2-year-old stumps are used. A 60% rooting was obtained by using stem cuttings from 2-4 -year-old material of T. sureni treated with indolebutyric acid (IBA) placed in a saw dust medium. Branch cuttings taken from old T.calantas trees and planted in nursery beds failed to sprout. Both, T. sinensis and T. ciliata produce root suckers abundantly and both coppice fairly well.
Spacings most commonly reported are 2 m x 2 m for T. ciliata, 1.5 m x 1.5 m for T. sureni.

R. Hazards and protection:
All Meliaceae are susceptible to the attack of the Hypsila robusta borer. Its larvae feed on the buds and destroy the leader shoot. Planting under shade may reduce the risk but cannot fully stop it [16].

S. Conservation:
The species T. calantas is close to extinction in the Philippines due to over-exploitation, no details of the situation of Toona sureni are known [16].

T. Species location in Cambodia:
unknown

U. Species location in the world (native and introduced):
Native species in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Burma, Indochina, southern China, Thailand, throughout Malesia to western New Guinea, but introduced and increasingly planted as a roadside and ornamental tree in other tropical and subtropical countries [12,16].

V. Miscellaneous :
Surian species provide good-quality timber which can be used for various purposes. Moreover they grow fast and are easy to propagate vegetatively. Surian species, therefore, are worth including into silvicultural trials. They may also have great potential for use in mixed timber plantations to suppress pests of other timber species. The wide-spread planting of surian for multipurpose uses should be encouraged.[16].

W. Further readings :
Bahadur, K.N. 1988: Monograph on the genus Toona (Meliaceae). Bishen Sing Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehra Dun. 251 pp.
Edmonds, J.M. 1993: The potential value of Toona species (Meliaceae) as multiple purpose and plantation trees in Southeast Asia. Comm. For. Review 72(3): 181-186.
Chen FH, 1987: Flora of Guangdong. Guangdong, China: Guangdong Science and Technology Press.
Gupta RK, 1993. Multipurpose trees for agroforestry and wasteland utilisation. Multipurpose trees for agroforestry and wasteland utilisation., xv + 562 pp.; [18 pp. of ref + refs in text].
Lemmens RHMJ, Soerianegara I, Wong WC, 1995. Plant resources of South-East Asia No. 5 (2). Timber trees: minor commercial timbers. Plant resources of South-East Asia No. 5 (2). Timber trees: minor commercial timbers., 655 pp.; [Also published by Prosea Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. PROSEA NUGI 835.]; 747 ref.
Liu P, Yang JJ, Lu FJ, 1993: Wood of Southeastern Asia. Beijing, China: China Forestry Publishing House, pp. 179-180.
Luna RK, 1996: Plantation trees. Plantation trees., xii + 975 pp.; [refs at ends of sections].
Merrifield LE, Howcroft NHS, 1975: Propagation of Cedar, Toona sureni (Bl.) Merr., from cuttings treated with growth substances. Turrialba, 25(1):54-57; 7 ref.
Mohd Shukari M, 1985: Malaysian timbers - surian. Trade Leaflet, Malaysian Forest Service, No. 93:5pp.; 3 ref.
Storrs A, Storrs J, 1984: Discovering trees in Nepal and the Himalayas. Discovering trees in Nepal and the Himalayas., xxiv + 366pp.; 15 ref.
Tang Y, 1973: Tropical and Subtropical Timber in Yunnan. Yunnan, China: People's Publishing House.
Webb DB, Wood PJ, Smith JP, Henman GS, 1984: A guide to species selection for tropical and sub-tropical plantations. Tropical Forestry Papers, Commonwealth Forestry Institute, University of Oxford, No. 15 (rev.):ii + 256 pp.; 175 ref.
Xiao GG, 1991: Forest insects of China. Forest insects of China., Ed. 2:vi + 1362 pp.; many ref.
Ye GY, 1980. Promising trees in limestone area: Toona sureni and Cinnamomum camphora. Subtropical Forest Science and Technology, 3:49-59.
Ye X, 1983. Afforestation of Broad-leaved Trees. Guangxi, China: People's Publishing House, 32-34.
Zheng WJ, 1978. Silvicultural techniques for major forest trees in China. Volume 1. Beijing, China; China Agriculture Press.
Zhou GS, 1994: Introduction and Silviculture of fast-growing Toona sureni and T. ciliata var. pubescens. J. of Fujian Forestry College, 14(3):271-276.

Part 2 References:

(You can also use your personal experience as a reference. Example:[1] Petri, M. (DED), 2006: Own observations.)

2) Nguyen, N.C. et al.: Vietnam Forest Trees, Hanoi 1997 788 pp.

4 ) Dy Phon, Pauline, 2000: Plants used in Cambodia. Olympic Printing House; Phnom Penh, 915 pp.

5) Gardner, S., Sidisunthorn, P. and Vilaiwan Anursarnsunthorn, 2000: A Field Guide to Forest Trees of Northern Thailand. CMU Herbarium Biology Dept. University of Chiang Mai, Thailand; 546 pp.

8) Sam, H. V.,Nanthavong, Kh.and P.J.A. Kessler 2004: Trees of Laos and Vietnam: A field guide to 100 economically or ecologically important species.BLUMEA J. Plant Tax. and Plant Geogr. 49(2004) p. 201- 349 pp., Univ. Leiden Br., Leiden, The Netherlands

11) Heywood, V.D. (Ed.) 1993: Flowering Plants of the World. Oxford University Press, New York; 336 pp.

12) CABI Forestry Compendium 2003

14) FSIV/JICA 2003: Use of Indigenous Tree Species in Reforestation in Vietnam. Agricultural Publishing House, Hanoi, 188 pp.

16) Lemmens, R.H.M.J., Soerianegara, I. And W.C. Wong (Eds.) 1995: Plant Resources of Southeast Asia 5(2) Timber trees: Minor commercial timbers. Prosea Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia, 655 pp.

20) Salim AS, Simons AJ, Orwa C, Chege J, Ovuor B, and Mutua A, 2002: Agroforestree Database. World Agroforestry Centre (on CD ROM).

26)World Agroforestry Centre http.www.worldagroforestry.org/sea/Products/AFDbases/AF/asp/Speciesinfo.asp?

27) Wikipedia http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/species name (Internet source)

* Leaflet of Toona sureni in Khmer Language

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