Toon

Toon a large deciduous tree Toona ciliata of family Meliaceae, grows upto 25 meters. The general look of the tree is very beautiful. Leaf is compound raceme and reaches length from 30 to 60 cm. The margin of the leaf blade is serrate. The inflorescence is a panicle, white in colour and pyramidal in shape. Flowers are small and scented. The fruit is a capsule and approximately 2.5 cm in length. The mature fruits liberate huge quantum of winged tiny seeds during April through May, which floats around in the air and ultimately settles on the ground. The colour of the timber varies from reddish to deep red.

The original habitat of the plant is the forests of the Chittagong and chittagong hill tracts. Now it is grown as a timber yielding plant in almost all the districts of Bangladesh. [Abul Khair]