Toona Ciliate
Family : Meliaceae
Common Name : Red cedar, Toon, Moulmelin cedar.
Hindi Name : Mahanim, Tun
Tamil Name : Santhana vembu
Malayalam : Mathigiri vembu, Chandana vembu, Akil, Chevvanakil, Malarveppu
Tree Characteristics :
ü Large semi-deciduous tree with a spreading crown growing up to 40 m height and 96 cm breast height diameter above buttress.
ü Widely distributed in the Sub - Himalayan tract and the valleys of outer Himalayas from Jammu and Kashmir eastwards to Manipur and on the Eastern and Western Ghats.
ü It also occurs in Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and tropical Australia. Flowering season is February to March and the fruiting season is May to June.
Nursery Practice :
ü Dry the capsules in the sun for 1 to 2 days and the seeds are separated by gently thrashing the dried capsules.
ü Seed sowing, Probably intermediate. Seeds can be stored for about one month. Seed Rate is 1,20,000 to 5,90,000 seeds/kg; Germination Percentage is up to 60 and the germination period is 8 to 15 days.
ü Seeds are broadcasted in the month of July, in raised beds of soil, sand and FYM (2:1:1) and covered with a thin layer of soil and river sand (2:1).
ü Beds are either kept open, shaded overhead (60 cm from ground level) with grasses or mulched with dry leaves and pine needles in severe sunny sites (Beniwal et al., 1990).
ü When the seedlings are about 6 to 8 cm tall, they are pricked out in polythene bags of 22.5 x 17.5 cm size filled with soil based potting mixture.
Economic Use:
ü Wood is used in furniture, house construction of ceiling, boarding etc.
ü The dye extracted from the flowers is used in dyeing cotton and wollen fabrics (Purkayastha, 1996).
ü The sapwood is pinkish or greyish white.
ü The heartwood is light brick-red when freshly cut, ageing to a rich reddish brown.
ü The wood is light, rather uneven-textured and moderately hard.
ü Wood is even but open grained, fragrant, seasons readly, does not split or warp.
ü Annual rings distinctly marked by a belt of large and numerous pores.
ü Flowers emmenagogue, used in menstrual disorders. Bark is anti-periodic, astringent, for the treatment of dysentery, a tonic and also a febrifuge.
ü Also useful in chronic dysentery.
