Melia azedarach

Melia azedarach
Leaves, flowers, and fruit
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Meliaceae
Genus:	Melia
Species:	M. azedarach
Binomial name
Melia azedarach L.
Synonyms
Azedara speciosa Raf. Azedarach commelinii Medik. Azedarach deleteria Medik. Azedarach fraxinifolia Moench Azedarach odoratum Noronha Azedarach sempervirens Kuntze Azedarach sempervirens var. glabrior (C.DC.) Kuntze Azedarach sempervirens f. incisodentata Kuntze Azedarach sempervirens f. longifoliola Kuntze Azedarach sempervirens f. subdentata Kuntze Melia azedarach var. intermedia (Makino) Makino Melia azedarach var. subtripinnata Miq. Melia azedarach var. toosendan (Siebold & Zucc.) Makino Melia bukayun Royle Melia cochinchinensis M.Roem. Melia commelini Medik. ex Steud. Melia composita Benth. Melia florida Salisb. Melia guineensis G.Don Melia japonica G.Don Melia japonica var. semperflorens Makino Melia orientalis M.Roem. Melia sambucina Blume Melia sempervirens Sw. Melia toosendan Siebold & Zucc.

Melia azedarach, commonly known by many names, including chinaberry tree,Pride of India,bead-tree, Cape lilac,syringa berrytree,Persian lilac, and Indian lilac, is a species of deciduous tree in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, that is native to Indomalaya and Australasia.

The adult tree has a rounded crown, and commonly measures 7–12 metres (20–40 ft) tall, however in exceptional circumstances M. azedarach can attain a height of 45 metres (150 ft).

The leaves are up to 50 centimetres (20 in) long, alternate, long-petioled, two or three times compound (odd-pinnate); the leaflets are dark green above and lighter green below, with serrate margins.

The flowers 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.

Melia azedarach should not be confused with the Azadirachta trees, which are in the same family, but a different genus.

Common names of Melia azedarach include chinaberry, chinaberry tree, Persian lilac (ambiguous), this name is also used for a lilac hybrid, Syringa × persica.Texas umbrella, umbrella tree, umbrella cedar, white cedar, bead-tree, Cape lilac, Ceylon cedar, Ceylon mahogany, syringa, syringa berry tree.

Names in other languages include malai vembu (Tamil: மலை வேம்பு), bakain (Hindi), zanzalakht (Arabic: زنزلخت‎‎), dharek or dhraik (Urdu: دھریک‎), and turaka vepa (Telugu).Ghora ("horse") neem (Bengali: ঘোড়ানিম or paya), hebbevu in Kannada, Shandai in Pashto, vilayati ("foreign") neem in Bundelkhand, and bkain in Haryana, Rajasthan, East Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, India. It has been naturalized in Madagascar, where it is called voandelaka.

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Wikipedia