Toona sinensis
| Toona sinensis | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 66' |
| Width: | 26' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Toona sinensis (common name: chinese cedar)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[1]. Stored seed germinates better if given a 3 month cold stratification[2]. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer and consider giving them some protection from the cold in their first winter outdoors.
Root cuttings, 4 - 5cm long, taken in December and potted up horizontally in pots in a greenhouse[3].
Cultivation: Thrives in most fertile well-drained soils in a sunny position[1]. Prefers a rich loamy soil[4], growing well on calcareous soils[5].
The fully dormant tree is hardy to about -25°c[1], though the young growth in spring can be damaged by late frosts.
The tree is fast growing[1] and is said to resist all insects and diseases[6]. It is also long-lived[7].
A very ornamental tree[4], the flowers diffuse a powerfully rich scent[7]. It is cultivated in China for its edible leaves[8].
Range: E. Asia - N. and W. China.
Habitat: Woodland[8].
Edibility: Young shoots and leaves - cooked[5][9][10][11]. This is a highly esteemed food in China[8], it is said to resemble onions in flavour and is usually boiled. Rich in vitamin A, the leaves also contain about 6% protein, 1% fat, 6.6% carbohydrate, 1.5% ash[12].
The leaves can be used as a tea substitute[11].
Fruit[10][11] . No further details are given.
Medicinal: The bark is astringent, carminative, febrifuge, ophthalmic and styptic[13][14]. A decoction is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, chronic dysentery, flatulence, bloody stools, seminal emissions, leucorrhoea,, metrorrhagia and gonorrhoea[13].
Usage: Wood - very durable, easily worked, takes a good polish. It is a very valuable timber, resembling mahogany, and is used for making furniture, window frames etc[8][14].
The wood is delicately scented and is burnt in temples as an incense[7].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Also Known As: Ailanthus flavescens. Cedrella sinensis. Juss.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Dirr, Michael and Charles Heuser. The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens Ga. Varsity Press, 1987.
- ↑ Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Natural Food Institute. Wonder Crops 1987.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Wilson, Ernest and Charles Sargent. Plantae Wilsonianae.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Revolutionary Health Committee of Hunan Province. A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Stuart, George. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei Southern Materials Centre.