Mahogany other than Swietenia: Toona

Gaskell Guitars Australia
Sep 3, 2020
5 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Natively-grown Swietenia (American mahogany) is no longer available in the world market and has been commercially banned since 2003.

Today, American mahogany is grown only in plantations, mainly in Asia and the South Pacific. Plantation mahogany accounts for 95% of world trade. It is very expensive.

See here for an explanation for why this is: What is Mahogany?

However, Swietenia is not the only genus in the Meliaceae (Mahogany) family that yields high quality timber. The Meliaceae family consists of 49 genera with approximately 550 species. Some have timber uses and some are even used as direct replacements for Swietenia. Others are merely plants and may only produce fruit, oil and seed often used for medicines or lotions. Of the ones that do yield timber, some include the word "mahogany" in their trade name and others do not. There are two terms to know:

GENUINE MAHOGANY as a term applies to mahogany of the Swietenia genus only, wherever grown.

TRUE MAHOGANY describes the timber of any Mahogany family genus other than Swietenia.

There are many species of mahogany other than Swietenia that are just as good tonewoods and quite suitable for the manufacturing of musical instruments such as acoustic and electric guitars, and drums.

Toona is a Mahogany family tree native throughout eastern Europe, northern Asia, South East Asia, and Australia. Botanically it is the equivalent of Cedrela which is otherwise native to Central and South America. There are four Toona species (some sources say five), each with their own trade names. Timber from the Asian species are often just called TOON or SURIAN no matter the species. The Australian species is almost always called RED CEDAR.

In South East Asia the wood is considered of high value and is used in house and ship building, for joinery, high-grade furniture, tea chests and boxes, musical instruments, toys and novelties, carvings, veneer, plywood, and pencils. There are felling restrictions in place in some countries.

Toona can be used as a genuine mahogany replacement and has been used in the manufacturing of electric guitars where "mahogany" is specified. Toona is quite similar to Swietenia sonically but lighter in weight.

Indian Mahogany / Red Cedar

Toona ciliata is traded as INDIAN MAHOGANY, TOON, or RED CEDAR. It is native to Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Australia. The Australian species is always called "Red Cedar" but is no longer commercially available. The Chinese species was declared endangered in 2015.

T. ciliata appears to be the main commercial species exported from Asia with Indonesia being the largest exporter. Since the early 20th Century it has been introduced into several countries in Africa (Republic of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania) and has become naturalized in southern Africa. It has also been introduced into Central/South America (Argentina and Costa Rica), Asia (Sri Lanka), and Oceania (Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and the Solomon Islands.) It was planted as a plantation crop in Hawaii in 1918 using seeds from Australia and has since become naturalized there.

Domestically the wood is used for carvings, boat building, cabinet making, cigar boxes, matchboxes, decorative plywood and veneer, food containers, high-grade furniture, interior trim, joinery, musical instruments, ornamental work, panelling, boxes and crates, building materials, exterior uses, millwork, and mouldings. In Australia it was a highly regarded timber for the manufacture of light-weight racing boats, particularly sailing boats and dinghies.

Chinese Mahogany

Toona sinensis is traded as SURIAN, SUREN, CHINESE CEDAR, and CHINESE MAHOGANY. It is native to China, South East Tibet, Java, Malaysia, Nepal, India, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Sumatra, Borneo, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Myanmar and Bhutan. It has also been introduced into Taiwan, Korea, Sri Lanka and Tropical Africa. Its local Chinese name is 香椿.

Toon leaves are used as a condiment in Chinese and Malaysian dishes and are rich in nutrients. For over 2000 years its leaves, bark, and seeds, have been used extensively in Chinese medicine. Domestically its timber it is sometimes used for joinery, furniture and cabinetwork, decorative veneers, racing boats, bridge construction, musical instruments, and patternmaking. Excessive logging in recent times has made it harder to source specifically.

I used to use this as my mahogany replacement for my factory-made guitars in the late 2000s. With genuine mahogany no longer available, Toona became "the next best thing" and Asian-made guitars specified as being made of "mahogany" were made with Toona. In the mid 2010s the Chinese government banned domestic timber production for exportation thus putting an end to musical instrument manufacturing using domestic Toona species. China now exclusively uses and re-exports timber it has imported from other countries.

Additionally, trade between African countries and China has become huge during the last 10 years that large quantities of African mahogany (Khaya) are exported from Africa to China. New musical instruments manufactured in China that are said to be made of "mahogany" are now most likely made of African mahogany if not a Toona species imported from other Asian countries, especially Indonesia.

Indonesian Mahogany

Toona sureni is also traded as BURMA CEDAR in the UK and USA as well as TOON and SURIAN. It is native to Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. As with its other species it is used for high-class cabinet wood, furniture, interior finishing, decorative panelling, crafts, musical instruments, cigar boxes, veneers, boxes and for construction. It is important to differentiate between the term “Indonesian Mahogany” as Toona and “Indonesian Mahogany” as plantation-grown Swietenia.

Calantas

Toona calantas is usually traded as CALANTAS or sometimes as PHILIPPINE MAHOGANY, if not simply as TOON or SUREN. It is native to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines. Since about 2013 plantations including T. Calantis have been established in the Philippines in former mining locations. It is mainly used for decorative applications such as timber veneers, paneling, joinery and furniture. As hardwood it can be used in boat building, for piano cases, carving, and for guitar necks.

IMPORTANT. “Philippine Mahogany” is also a generic term used in the USA carpentry trade and internationally to describe timbers from the Shorea genus which consists of 196 species in the Dipterocarpaceae family native to much of Asia. 148 of the 196 species are threatened with habitat loss and have varying degrees of trade restrictions. It is possible to confuse this term, being that “Philippine Mahogany” could be:

1) a species of Shorea,

2) native Toona,

3) the national tree of the Philippines Pterocarpus indicus , or

4) plantation-grown Swietenia.

References:

Mahogany other than Swietenia: Toona

Indian Mahogany / Red Cedar

Chinese Mahogany

Indonesian Mahogany

Calantas

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