Melia azedarach L.

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Melia azedarach

Photo: Bart Wursten
Cleveland Dam, Harare

Melia azedarach

Photo: Bart Wursten
Mukuvisi Woodland, office area

Melia azedarach

Photo: Bart Wursten
Bunker's Hill, Harare

Melia azedarach

Photo: Bart Wursten
Mukuvisi Woodland, office area

Melia azedarach

Photo: Bart Wursten
Harry Pichanick Drive, Alexandra Park, Harare

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Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)

Synonyms:
Common names: Persian lilac (English) Syringa (English) Syringa berry (English)
Description: Medium sized, fast growing tree. The leaves are bipinnately compound with serrated margins on the ovate leaflets. The sweetly scented flowers are borne in large many flowered, axillary inflorescences with pale lilac petals and a dark purple staminal tube. Fruits fleshy and yellowish when ripe, persisting in a wrinkled state on the tree for a long time. The seeds are poisonous.
Notes: Commonly planted in gardens and as a street tree. It has become widely naturalised in southern Africa and is an invasive pest in some areas.
Derivation of specific name:
Flowering time:Sep - Oct
Worldwide distribution: Native to India but naturalised elsewhere
Growth form(s): Tree.
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters: Display spot characters for this species
Image last updated: Monday 4 September 2006
Literature:

Coates Palgrave, K. (revised and updated by Meg Coates Palgrave) (2002). Trees of Southern Africa 3rd edition. Struik, South Africa Page 451.

Drummond, R.B. (1975). A list of trees, shrubs and woody climbers indigenous or naturalised in Rhodesia. Kirkia 10(1) Page 250.

Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 62.

Setshogo, M.P. (2005). Preliminary checklist of the plants of Botswana. Sabonet Report no. 37. Sabonet, Pretoria and Gaborone Page 86.

Shone, D.K. & Drummond, R.B. (1965). Poisonous Plants of Rhodesia Ministry of Agriculture, Rhodesia Pages 38 - 39. (Includes a picture).

White, F. & Styles, B.T. (1963). Meliaceae Flora Zambesiaca 2(1) Page 315.

Other sources of information about Melia azedarach:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Melia azedarach
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Melia azedarach
Flora of Malawi: Melia azedarach
Flora of Mozambique: Melia azedarach
Flora of Zambia: Melia azedarach
Flora of Zimbabwe: Melia azedarach

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Melia azedarach
African Plant Database: Melia azedarach
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Melia azedarach
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Melia azedarach
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Melia azedarach
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Melia azedarach
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Melia azedarach
JSTOR Plant Science: Melia azedarach
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Melia azedarach
Plants of the World Online: Melia azedarach
Tropicos: Melia azedarach
Wikipedia: Melia azedarach


Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2002-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Zimbabwe: Cultivated Plants: Species information: Melia azedarach.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/cult/species.php?species_id=133520, retrieved 29 March 2024

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