It is native to South Asia, Indochina, Malesia, China, and Papua New Guinea.

It is commonly known as the suren toon, surian, limpaga, iron redwood or the red cedar (a name also shared with various other trees).

[6][7] Toona sureni is a medium-sized to large tree, reaching a maximum height of around 40 to 60 m (130 to 200 ft) and a diameter of 100 to 300 cm (39 to 118 in).

[9] Toona sureni is deciduous, shedding their leaves during the dry season (usually February to March or September to October).

[8] Toona sureni is native to South Asia (India, Bhutan, and Nepal); Indochina (Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam); China (Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, and Yunnan); Malesia (Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines); and Papua New Guinea.

[11] They are usually found in primary forests on open hillsides, slopes, ravines, and riverbanks at an altitude of 1,200 to 2,700 m (3,900 to 8,900 ft) asl.

They are a source of high quality commercial hardwoods used for high-end furniture work, interior finishing, decorative paneling, musical instruments such as Djembe,[14] and other wood crafts.

[8] The bark extract is also used in traditional medicine as an astringent, purgative, antirheumatic, and for treating gastrointestinal ailments like diarrhea and dysentery.