Taxon: Melia azedarach L.

Common names:

• Cape-lilac   (Source: Aust Pl Common Names ) – English
  
• chinaberry   (Source: World Econ Pl ) – English
  
• chinaberry-tree   (Source: Aust Pl Common Names ) – English
  
• Persian-lilac   (Source: Weeds SAfr 2001 ) – English
  
• Sichuan pagoda-tree   (Source: Herbs Commerce ed2 [as M. toosendan]) – English
  
• syringa berrytree   (Source: Kellerman et al.1988) – English
  
• Texas umbrella-tree   (Source: Aust Pl Common Names ) – English
  
• tulip-cedar   (Source: Aust Pl Common Names ) – English
  
• umbrella-cedar   (Source: Aust Pl Common Names ) – English
  
• umbrella-tree   (Source: F Guat ) – English
  
• white-cedar   (Source: Aust Pl Common Names ) – English
  
• bessieboom syringa   (Source: Weeds SAfr 2001 ) – Afrikaans
  
• maksering   (Source: Weeds SAfr 2001 ) – Afrikaans
  
• chuan liang zi   (Source: Herbs Commerce ed2 [as M. toosendan]) – Transcribed Chinese
  
• lian   (Source: F ChinaEng ) – Transcribed Chinese
  
• arbre à chapelets   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – French
  
• lilas des Indes   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – French
  
• indischer Zedrachbaum   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – German
  
• persischer Flieder   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – German
  
• sendan   (Source: F JapanOhwi ) – Japanese Rōmaji
  
• meolguseulnamu   (Source: F Korea ) – Transcribed Korean
  
• amargoseira-do-Himalaio   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – Portuguese
  
• cinamomo   (Source: D. Groth, p.c. 2005) – Portuguese (Brazil)
  
• sabonete-de-soldado   (Source: D. Groth, p.c. 2005) – Portuguese (Brazil)
  
• melia   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – Spanish
  
• paraíso   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – Spanish
  
• zedrak   (Source: Vara kulturvaxt namn ) – Swedish
  

Economic importance:

• Environmental: ornamental   (fide Zander ed14; Invasive Pl Spec)
  
• Materials: beads   (fide Bot Beads World; as web document)
  
• Materials: wood   (for the manufacture of fiber boards fide F Neotrop 28:24. 198)
  
• Medicines: folklore   (fide Herbs Commerce, as M. toosendan; CRC MedHerbs ed2; Herbs Commerce ed2)
  
• Non-vertebrate poisons: potential for plant pest control   (fide Pl Res SEAs 11:188, 190. 1997)
  
• Vertebrate poisons: mammals   (fide Kingsbury; Kellerman et al.; Lampe & McCann)
  
• Weed: potential seed contaminant   (fide Invasive Pl Spec; Weeds SAfr 2001)
  

More:

View toxicology references for Melia azedarach from FDA Poisonous Plant Database

View phytochemical or ethnobotanical data from Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases

Distributional range:

• ASIA-TEMPERATE
  China: China - Anhui [tropical], Fujian, Gansu [s.], Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei [s.], Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shaanxi [s.], Shandong, Shanxi [s.], Sichuan, Xizang [s.e.], Yunnan, Zhejiang
• ASIA-TROPICAL
  Indian Subcontinent: Bhutan; India; Nepal; Sri Lanka
  Indo-China: Laos; Thailand; Vietnam
  Malesia: Indonesia - Irian Jaya, Lesser Sunda Islands; Papua New Guinea; Philippines
• AUSTRALASIA
  Australia: Australia - New South Wales [e.], Northern Territory [n.], Queensland, Western Australia [n.]
• PACIFIC
  Southwestern Pacific: Solomon Islands

• AFRICA
  Macaronesia: Spain - Canary Islands
  Africa
• ASIA-TEMPERATE
  Western Asia: Cyprus
  Eastern Asia: Japan - Kyushu, Ryukyu Islands, Shikoku
• AUSTRALASIA
  Australia: Australia
• EUROPE
  Southeastern Europe: Croatia; Italy [incl. Sicily]
  Southwestern Europe: France
• NORTHERN AMERICA
  Mexico
  United States
• PACIFIC
  North-Central Pacific: United States - Hawaii
  Northwestern Pacific: Northern Mariana Islands; Palau
  South-Central Pacific: Cook Islands; French Polynesia; Pitcairn
  Southwestern Pacific: Fiji; Nauru; New Caledonia; Niue; Solomon Islands; Tonga
• SOUTHERN AMERICA
  Caribbean: West Indies
  Mesoamerica: Guatemala; Nicaragua
  Northern South America: French Guiana; Guyana; Suriname; Venezuela
  Brazil: Brazil
  Western South America: Ecuador - Galapagos Islands; Peru
  Southern South America: Argentina; Chile; Paraguay; Uruguay

• also cultivated

References:

• Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. 2012. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98.
• Aldén, B., S. Ryman & M. Hjertson. 2009. Våra kulturväxters namn - ursprung och användning. Formas, Stockholm (Handbook on Swedish cultivated and utility plants, their names and origin).
• Balick, M. J. et al. 2000. Checklist of the vascular plants of Belize, with common names and uses. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 85.
• Boutelje, J. B. 1980. Encyclopedia of world timbers, names and technical literature.
• Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45.
• Chen Fenghwai & Wu Telin. 1991–. Flora of Guangdong. [= M. toosendan].
• Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs.
• Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen.
• Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
• Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). 11:187–190.
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
• Forzza, R. C. et al., coord. Lista de espécies da flora do Brasil (on-line resource).
• Funk, V. et al. 2007. Checklist of the plants of the Guiana Shield (Venezuela: Amazonas, Bolivar, Delta Amacuro; Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana). Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 55:1-584.
• Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. [re. Brazilian common names].
• Henderson, L. 2001. Alien weeds and invasive plants: a complete guide to declared weeds and invaders in South Africa. Plant Protection Research Institute, Handbook 12.
• Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
• Hokche, O. et al. 2008. Nuevo catálogo de la flora vascular de Venezola.
• Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
• Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
• Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
• Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993–. Flora of Japan.
• Jiangsu Institute of Botany. 1982. Flora of Jiangsu. [= M. toosendan].
• Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75.
• Kellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa.
• Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. [poisonous].
• Lampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann. 1985. AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants. [poisonous].
• Lee, Y. N. 1997. Flora of Korea.
• McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2.
• Mun-Chan, B. et al. 1986. A checklist of the Korean cultivated plants. Kulturpflanze 34:110.
• Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
• Pennington, T. D. & B. T. Styles. 1981. Meliaceae. Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 28:24.
• Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants.
• Smith, R. J. Botanical beads of the world (on-line resource).
• Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946–1976. Flora of Guatemala.
• Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948–. Flora malesiana.
• Stevens, W. D. et al., eds. 2001. Flora de Nicaragua. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 85(1-3).
• Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds.
• Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994–. Flora of China (English edition).

More:

Search AGRICOLA article citation database for citations referencing Melia azedarach.

Search NCBI's Entrez search engine for PubMed citations referencing Melia azedarach.

Search Biodiversity Heritage Library for historical publications referencing Melia azedarach.

Synonyms:

• (=) Melia azedarach var. japonica (G. Don) Makino
  
• (=) Melia azedarach var. sempervirens L.
  
• (=) Melia candollei A. Juss.
  (previously associated with 2 accessions)
• (=) Melia floribunda Carrière
  (previously associated with 2 accessions)
• (=) Melia toosendan Siebold & Zucc.
  (previously associated with 1 accession)

Check other web resources for Melia azedarach L.:

• PLANTS: USDA-NRCS Database of Plants of the United States and its Territories
• BONAP: North American Plant Atlas of the Biota of North America Program
• Flora del Conosur: Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares del Conosur
• Flora of China: Online version from Harvard University
• AVH: Australia's Virtual Herbarium
• TROPICOS: Nomenclatural and Specimen Database of the Missouri Botanical Garden
• Mansfeld: Mansfeld's World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops
• ePIC: Electronic Plant Information Centre of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
• AGRICOLA: Article Citation Database or NAL Catalog of USDA's National Agricultural Library
• Entrez: NCBI's search engine for PubMed citations, GenBank sequences, etc.

Images:

• GRIN Images of germplasm accessions.
• Embryo drawing: U.S. National Seed Herbarium drawing
• Forestry Images: Images of invasive weeds from www.forestryimages.org
• Fruit: U.S. National Seed Herbarium image
• Fruit: U.S. National Seed Herbarium image
• Fruit with exocarp removed: U.S. National Seed Herbarium image
• Seed: U.S. National Seed Herbarium image

More:

• Check PlantSystematics.org for additional images
• Images Note: Be advised that their identity may be inaccurate. Proper identification of a plant may require specialized taxonomic knowledge or comparison with properly documented herbarium material.

Abbreviations & symbols in GRIN Taxonomy

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