Melia azedarach
Encyclopedia
Melia azedarach is a species of deciduous
tree
in the mahogany
family
, Meliaceae
, that is native to Pakistan
, India
, Indochina
Southeast Asia
and Australia
. Common names include Dhraik- دھریک, Chinaberry, Persian Lilac, White Cedar, Texas Umbrella, Bead Tree, Lunumidella, Ceylon Cedar, Pride of India, malai vembu (மலை வேம்பு), Bakain and Dharek or Dhraik. In South Africa
it is commonly but erroneously called Syringa, which is in fact the lilac genus. The genus Melia includes four other species, occurring from southeast Asia
to northern Australia
. They are all deciduous or semi-evergreen
trees.
The adult tree has a rounded crown, and commonly measures attains a height of 7-12 metres, however in exceptional circumstances M. azedarach can attain a height of 45 metres.. The flower
s are small and fragrant, with five pale purple or lilac petals, growing in clusters. The fruit
is a drupe
, marble-sized, light yellow at maturity, hanging on the tree all winter, and gradually becoming wrinkled and almost white.
The leaves
are up to 50 cm long, alternate, long-petioled, 2 or 3 times compound (odd-pinnate); the leaflet
s are dark green above and lighter green below, with serrate margins.
_eating_bakain_(melia_azadirachta)_berries_at_roorkee,_uttarakhand_w_img_9016.jpg)
The main utility of chinaberry is its timber. This is of medium density, and ranges in colour from light brown to dark red. In appearance it is readily confused with the unrelated Burmese Teak (Tectona grandis). Melia azedarach in keeping with other members of the family Meliaceae
has a timber of high quality, but as opposed to many almost-extinct species of mahogany
it is under-utilised. Seasoning
is relatively simple in that planks dry without cracking or warping and are resistant to fungal infection. The taste of the leaves is not as bitter as Neem
(Azadirachta indica).
The hard, 5-grooved seeds were widely used for making rosaries
and other products requiring bead
s, before their replacement by modern plastic
s.
The flowers are unattractive to bee
s and butterflies
. Though some hummingbirds like Sapphire-spangled Emerald
(Amazilia lactea), Glittering-bellied Emerald
(Chlorostilbon lucidus) and Planalto Hermit
(Phaethornis pretrei) have been recorded to feed on and pollinate the flowers, these too only take it opportunistically.
s if eaten in quantity. However, like the Yew
tree, these toxins are not harmful to birds, who gorge themselves on the fruit, eventually reaching a "drunken" state. The toxins are neurotoxin
s and unidentified resins, found mainly in the fruits. Some bird
s are able to eat the fruit, spreading the seed
s in their droppings. The first symptoms of poisoning appear a few hours after ingestion. They may include loss of appetite, vomiting, constipation or diarrhea, bloody faeces, stomach pain, pulmonary congestion, cardiac arrest
, rigidity, lack of coordination and general weakness. Death may take place after about 24 hours. Like in relatives, tetranortriterpenoid
s consititute an important toxic principle. These are chemically related to Azadirachtin
, the primary insecticidal
compound in the commercially important Neem
oil. These compounds are probably related to the wood and seed's resistance to pest infestation, and maybe to the unattractiveness of the flowers to animals.
Leaves have been used as a natural insecticide
to keep with stored food
, but must not be eaten as they are highly poison
ous. A diluted infusion
of leaves and trees has been used in the past to induce uterus
relaxation.
(South Carolina
and Georgia
) and widely planted in southern states. Today it is considered an invasive species
by some groups as far north as Virginia
and Oklahoma
. But nurseries
continue to sell the trees, and seeds are also widely available. It has become naturalized to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Americas and is planted in similar climates around the world. Besides the problem of toxicity, its usefulness as a shade tree in the United States is diminished by its tendency to sprout where unwanted and to turn sidewalks into dangerously slippery surfaces when the fruits fall, though this is not a problem where songbird populations are in good shape. As noted above, the possibility of commercially profitable harvesting of feral stands remains largely unexplored.
It has been naturalized in Madagascar where it is called vaondelaka.
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
in the mahogany
Swietenia mahagoni
Swietenia mahagoni, commonly known as the West Indies Mahogany, is a species of Swietenia native to southern Florida, USA, The Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola. It is the species from which the original mahogany wood was produced....
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
, Meliaceae
Meliaceae
The Meliaceae, or the Mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs in the order Sapindales....
, that is native to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Common names include Dhraik- دھریک, Chinaberry, Persian Lilac, White Cedar, Texas Umbrella, Bead Tree, Lunumidella, Ceylon Cedar, Pride of India, malai vembu (மலை வேம்பு), Bakain and Dharek or Dhraik. In South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
it is commonly but erroneously called Syringa, which is in fact the lilac genus. The genus Melia includes four other species, occurring from southeast Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
to northern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. They are all deciduous or semi-evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
trees.
The adult tree has a rounded crown, and commonly measures attains a height of 7-12 metres, however in exceptional circumstances M. azedarach can attain a height of 45 metres.. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are small and fragrant, with five pale purple or lilac petals, growing in clusters. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a drupe
Drupe
In botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
, marble-sized, light yellow at maturity, hanging on the tree all winter, and gradually becoming wrinkled and almost white.
The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are up to 50 cm long, alternate, long-petioled, 2 or 3 times compound (odd-pinnate); the leaflet
Leaflet
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...
s are dark green above and lighter green below, with serrate margins.
Uses and ecology
Meliaceae
The Meliaceae, or the Mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly trees and shrubs in the order Sapindales....
has a timber of high quality, but as opposed to many almost-extinct species of mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
it is under-utilised. Seasoning
Wood drying
Wood drying reduces the moisture content of wood before its use.There are two main reasons for drying wood:...
is relatively simple in that planks dry without cracking or warping and are resistant to fungal infection. The taste of the leaves is not as bitter as Neem
Neem
Azadirachta indica is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus Azadirachta, and is native to India growing in tropical and semi-tropical regions. Its fruits and seeds are the source of neem oil...
(Azadirachta indica).
The hard, 5-grooved seeds were widely used for making rosaries
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
and other products requiring bead
Bead
A bead is a small, decorative object that is usually pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under to over in diameter. A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery. Beadwork...
s, before their replacement by modern plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
s.
The flowers are unattractive to bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s and butterflies
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
. Though some hummingbirds like Sapphire-spangled Emerald
Sapphire-spangled Emerald
The Sapphire-spangled Emerald, Amazilia lactea, is a species of hummingbird that occurs in Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil from the Amazon south to Santa Catarina; there are uncertain records from east Ecuador. Both male and female have a bright "sapphire" blue chest and chin and green-blue...
(Amazilia lactea), Glittering-bellied Emerald
Glittering-bellied Emerald
The Glittering-bellied Emerald is a species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family. It has widely been listed by the scientific name Chlorostilbon aureoventris, but this was shown to be mistaken by J. F. Pacheco and B. M. Whitney in 2006.It is found in north-eastern Argentina, eastern and...
(Chlorostilbon lucidus) and Planalto Hermit
Planalto Hermit
The Planalto Hermit is a species of bird in the Trochilidae family, the hummingbirds. It is found in eastern and south-central Brazil, eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, and marginally in north-western Argentina....
(Phaethornis pretrei) have been recorded to feed on and pollinate the flowers, these too only take it opportunistically.
Toxicity
Fruits are poisonous to humanHuman
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s if eaten in quantity. However, like the Yew
Taxus
Taxus is a genus of yews, small coniferous trees or shrubs in the yew family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 1-40 m, with trunk diameters of up to 4 m...
tree, these toxins are not harmful to birds, who gorge themselves on the fruit, eventually reaching a "drunken" state. The toxins are neurotoxin
Neurotoxin
A neurotoxin is a toxin that acts specifically on nerve cells , usually by interacting with membrane proteins such as ion channels. Some sources are more general, and define the effect of neurotoxins as occurring at nerve tissue...
s and unidentified resins, found mainly in the fruits. Some bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s are able to eat the fruit, spreading the seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s in their droppings. The first symptoms of poisoning appear a few hours after ingestion. They may include loss of appetite, vomiting, constipation or diarrhea, bloody faeces, stomach pain, pulmonary congestion, cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
, rigidity, lack of coordination and general weakness. Death may take place after about 24 hours. Like in relatives, tetranortriterpenoid
Tetranortriterpenoid
The tetranortriterpenoid class of chemical compounds most noted for the chemical azadirachtin, extracted from the neem tree that displays insecticidal properties...
s consititute an important toxic principle. These are chemically related to Azadirachtin
Azadirachtin
Azadirachtin, a chemical compound belonging to the limonoid group, is a secondary metabolite present in neem seeds. It is a highly oxidized tetranortriterpenoid which boasts a plethora of oxygen functionality, comprising an enol ether, acetal, hemiacetal, and tetra-substituted oxirane as well as a...
, the primary insecticidal
Insecticide
An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind...
compound in the commercially important Neem
Neem
Azadirachta indica is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus Azadirachta, and is native to India growing in tropical and semi-tropical regions. Its fruits and seeds are the source of neem oil...
oil. These compounds are probably related to the wood and seed's resistance to pest infestation, and maybe to the unattractiveness of the flowers to animals.
Leaves have been used as a natural insecticide
Insecticide
An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind...
to keep with stored food
Food
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
, but must not be eaten as they are highly poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ous. A diluted infusion
Infusion
An infusion is the outcome of steeping plants with desired chemical compounds or flavors in water or oil.-History:The first recorded use of essential oils was in the 10th or 11th century by the Persian polymath Avicenna, possibly in The Canon of Medicine.-Preparation techniques:An infusion is very...
of leaves and trees has been used in the past to induce uterus
Uterus
The uterus or womb is a major female hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ of most mammals including humans. One end, the cervix, opens into the vagina, while the other is connected to one or both fallopian tubes, depending on the species...
relaxation.
As invasive species
The plant was introduced around 1830 as an ornamental in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
) and widely planted in southern states. Today it is considered an invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
by some groups as far north as Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. But nurseries
Nursery (horticulture)
A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to usable size. They include retail nurseries which sell to the general public, wholesale nurseries which sell only to businesses such as other nurseries and to commercial gardeners, and private nurseries which supply the needs of...
continue to sell the trees, and seeds are also widely available. It has become naturalized to tropical and warm temperate regions of the Americas and is planted in similar climates around the world. Besides the problem of toxicity, its usefulness as a shade tree in the United States is diminished by its tendency to sprout where unwanted and to turn sidewalks into dangerously slippery surfaces when the fruits fall, though this is not a problem where songbird populations are in good shape. As noted above, the possibility of commercially profitable harvesting of feral stands remains largely unexplored.
Common names
Other common names include Ghoda neem (Ghoda meaning horse) in Bengali and Vilayati (foreign) neem in Bundelkhand region, and Bakain in East Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand region of India.It has been naturalized in Madagascar where it is called vaondelaka.
External links
- Melia azederach (PDF)
- SerTox (in Spanish) - FAQ about toxic plants.