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.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
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
Mature size
Height: 30 ft. 0 in. - 65 ft. 0 in. | Width: 15 ft. 0 in. - 30 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Rapid
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
1 - Canopy (>40 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Oval
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green; Purple/Lavender; Red/Burgundy
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf margin
Entire; Serrate
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
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.
Fall color
Gold/Yellow
Flower color
White
Flower form
Panicle
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
4 mm white to pale pink, flowers on 12 in. pendulous panicles in May-June
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Fruit is a woody, star-shaped capsule .5-1 inch long
Bark color
Dark Brown; Dark Gray
Bark detail
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.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Asia
Food & Medicine
Edible parts
Leaves
Fruit type
Capsule
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.
Uses (ethnobotany)
Timber is hard and reddish and used for furniture and guitars.
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Lawn
Design feature
Shade Tree; Specimen; Street Tree
Garden tags
#deciduous #street tree #single trunk #adaptable #suckers #multitrunked #white flowers #shade tree #fast growing #full sun tolerant