Chinaberry
Melia azedarach L.
Chinaberry (Melia azedarach) is a fast-growing deciduous tree with fragrant lilac flowers and yellow drupes; the wood is used for joinery and the plant yields insecticidal compounds, but the fruits and seeds are toxic.
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Chinaberry — Fruit & seedsChinaberry — Fruit & seeds
Chinaberry — Leaves
Chinaberry — Plant
Chinaberry — Whole tree
Chinaberry — Fruit & seedsChinaberry — Fruit & seedsChinaberry — Fruit & seedsOverview
A tree 6–15 m tall with a broad crown and grey-brown, longitudinally fissured bark. Leaves are twice pinnate with toothed leaflets; small fragrant lilac-white flowers form axillary sprays; the round, pale-yellow drupe persists through winter.
The fruit contains meliatoxins toxic to people and livestock if eaten in quantity, while seeds and bark contain toosendanin, an insecticidal, insect-repelling compound. The wood is pale brown and attractively figured, easy to work and used for furniture, boxes and musical instruments.
Life cycle
From seed to productSeed
Hard seeds sit inside the drupe; sown after removing the flesh, they germinate in a few weeks.
Sapling
Saplings grow very fast and demand light, regenerating readily from seed and root suckers.
Flowering
Fragrant lilac sprays open in spring and attract bees.
Fruit & harvest
Yellow drupes persist through winter (inedible); timber is harvested after 10–15 years.
Distribution & origin
Share of recorded occurrences by region- India · South Asia26%
- China · East Asia24%
- Vietnam (planted)20%
- SE Asia · Australia18%
- Other plantings12%
Chemical composition
Relative content in agarwood resin- ToosendaninInsecticidal, toxic40%
- MeliatoxinsToxic in ripe fruit30%
- Other limonoidsBitter, insect-repellent30%
Uses
- Timber for furniture, boxes, instruments; fuel
- Shade, roadside and ornamental tree
- Leaves, bark and seeds as botanical insecticide (with care)
Properties
- Leaf
- Twice pinnate, shed in dry season
- Flower
- Lilac, fragrant
- Fruit
- Yellow drupe, persists
Habitat & conservation
Native from South and East Asia to Australia; grows on deep, well-drained, sunny ground and is widely planted across the tropics and subtropics, sometimes becoming invasive.
Conservation
Not globally threatened (IUCN: Least Concern). Outside its native range (e.g. the southeastern USA, Pacific islands) it is an invasive species needing control.
References
- 1Plants of the World Online — Melia azedarach — Kew Science, 2024
- 2IUCN Red List — Melia azedarach — IUCN, 2019
- 3CABI Invasive Species Compendium — Melia azedarach — CABI, 2022
- 4Hình ảnh minh hoạ lấy từ Wikimedia Commons, tôn trọng giấy phép ghi kèm — Wikimedia Commons,
- 5Nguồn ảnh: Zeynel Cebeci (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 6Nguồn ảnh: Forest & Kim Starr (CC BY 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,
- 7Nguồn ảnh: Paul venter (CC BY-SA 3.0), Wikimedia Commons — Wikimedia Commons,