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. In 1995 the classification of Australian red cedar through Taxonomy of the genus Toona was completed by Dr. Jenny Edmonds, Kew Botanic Gardens, UK. 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). Dr. Edmonds found it impossible to distinguish botanical specimens of red cedar from Australia from those in other parts of its range. Under the microscope there is no difference between NSW and India cedar. This does not mean that a timber merchant couldn't recognise cedar grown under different conditions in different areas. The DNA of cedar from area to area is however distinctively different. So much so that a small selection of probes made from early furniture where its maker and timbers are known, could be used to test a piece of furniture where its origins were uncertain. This of course can not confirm beyond all doubt an items' place of manufacture due to outside factors like Australian red cedar being exported to India soon after the settlement of Sydney, but it could add weight to any argument. The method of collecting and testing living samples is relatively straight forward. In the case of red cedar living material (seed, leaves, or timber tissue) at a range of sites. A map of molecular genetic markers is then developed by which it is then possible to identify with accuracy the origin of any new material for origin unknown. This has been done with several species of trees. For example a forester may wish to find out the origin of the land race of Grevillea Robusta (silky oak) growing in Kenya. Silky oak only grows naturally in Australia so the origin of any exotic stands overseas is of interest to tree breeders wishing to genetically improve the species. The creation of probes is not so straight forward and tends to eir on the expensive side. It would be possible to develop DNA probe markers to the whole range of red cedar using living material. The next step would be to find DNA markers on a furniture piece using dead wood material. A probe is what we could picture as half a DNA double helix from a known sample, marker modified to match any type from an area of cedar not just one individual tree. It is then tested with half a DNA split from an unknown sample to see if they will reassemble for a positive match. It should be possible to precisely identify the origin of a furniture piece although it is not known of anyone attempting this kind of research in the world and until methods of DNA testing and probe making on dead tissue become as common place as a blood test or unless excessive amounts of funding come the authors way it will remain an opportunity for furniture historians. Ian Thomson, 11 November 1998 Special thanks to Dr Doug Borland, Senior Research Scientist, of the CSIRO's Forestry and Forest Products, Australian Tree Seed Center, Canberra; for his assistance in the research of this article.

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