Is it possible to tell whether an early piece of red cedar furniture is made from Australian red cedar (Toona Australis) or red cedar from another country?
Under the microscope there is no difference between NSW and India cedar according to Dr. Jenny Edmonds, Kew Botanic Gardens, UK. She found it impossible to distinguish botanical specimens of red cedar from Australia from those in other parts of its range. In 1995, Dr. Edmonds completed the classification of Australian red cedar through Taxonomy of the genus Toona. Five species of Toona were recognised. Toona Citiata (of which our Toona Australis is included), Toona Sinensis, Toona Fargesii, Toona Surenii and possibly Toona Calantas which may be a large fruited variant of Toona Ciliata. Toona Ciliata occurs in Australia, PNG South East Asia (peninsula Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar and Bangladesh), South China, the Philippines, Indonesia, the India subcontinent (India and Pakistan). This does not mean that a timber merchant couldn’t recognise cedar grown under different conditions in different areas.
