Beef and Onion Plant Toona sinensis
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Cedrela sinensis
- Phonetic Spelling
- SEED-rel-uh sy-NEN-sis
- Description
-
Chinese Toon is a tree in the mahogany family that can grow up to 65 feet tall and 30 feet wide with an oval spreading form. It produces small flowers in pendulous clusters in spring and the fruit is a star-shaped capsule resembling a wooden rose. The tree will spread by suckers and form stands if let be. It will also spread by seeds.
Chinese Toon is tolerant of any pH and adapts to various soil types but prefers moist well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. It is often cut back to keep it shorter and to have more of a shrub shape. Use as a shade tree, specimen or street tree.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Flamingo'
Bight pink flowers
- 'Flamingo'
- 'Flamingo'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Flamingo'
Bight pink flowers
- 'Flamingo'
- 'Flamingo'
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Toona
- Species:
- sinensis
- Family:
- Meliaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Timber is hard and reddish and used for furniture and guitars.
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Asia
- Edibility:
- Young leaves are used as a vegetable in China and reddish leaves taste best. They have a floral yet onion-like flavor. Leaves are aslo used to make toona paste and used as a condiment.
- Dimensions:
- Height: 30 ft. 0 in. - 65 ft. 0 in.
- Width: 15 ft. 0 in. - 30 ft. 0 in.
-
-
Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
- Oval
- Growth Rate:
- Rapid
- Maintenance:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Medium
-
-
Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Clay
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil pH:
- Acid (<6.0)
- Alkaline (>8.0)
- Neutral (6.0-8.0)
- Soil Drainage:
- Good Drainage
- Moist
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Mountains
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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-
Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Fruit Type:
- Capsule
- Fruit Length:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Width:
- < 1 inch
- Fruit Description:
- Fruit is a woody, star-shaped capsule .5-1 inch long
-
-
Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- White
- Flower Inflorescence:
- Panicle
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Summer
- Flower Size:
- < 1 inch
- Flower Description:
- 4 mm white to pale pink, flowers on 12 in. pendulous panicles in May-June
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-
Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Deciduous
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Purple/Lavender
- Red/Burgundy
- Deciduous Leaf Fall Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Leaf Type:
- Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Margin:
- Entire
- Serrate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Leaf Description:
- 10-20 in. long alternate, pinnately compound leaves with 10-22 leaflets that are 2.5-5.5 inches long with entire or slightly serrate margins. The end leaflet is usually absent, but not always. New growth opens reddish-purple.
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-
Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Dark Gray
- Surface/Attachment:
- Exfoliating
- Fissured
- Bark Description:
- Bark gray to dark brown and smooth when young, becoming fissured and peeling with age. Inner bark pink to red. Has a garlic and pepper smell when cut.
-
-
Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
-
-
Landscape:
- Landscape Location:
- Lawn
- Design Feature:
- Shade Tree
- Specimen
- Street Tree
