Chinaberry
Melia azedarach
Meliaceae - Mahogany

Description

Leaves: Alternate; twice pinnately compound; 12" to 24" long and half as wide; deciduous; with many ovate to oval leaflets, 1-1/2" to 2" long, with a drawn-out point at their tips, serrate to slightly lobed, glabrous but with some hair when young, deep green; yellow-green fall color.

Twigs/buds: Twigs stout; olive-green; large round pith; brittle; strong-smell when crushed. No terminal bud; lateral buds small, 1/16" to 1/8" across, round, brown, pubescent; arranged within a shield-shaped leaf scar.

Flowers/fruit: Flowers perfect, light purple, 5/8" to 3/4" across; in a 4" to 8" long cluster; bloom in May; fragrant and showy. Fruit a yellow drupe; 3/8" to 5/8" diameter; fleshy; with a hard black seed; ripens in September and persists through the winter.

Bark: Gray-brown; furrowed, with obvious lenticels.

Wood: Little information available; unimportant; soft, weak.

General: A medium-sized tree native to India and China that has been widely planted in the southern U.S. and has become naturalized in some areas. Very adaptable. Shade intolerant. May be insect and/or disease prone, especially when stressed. Weak wood and/or branch structure. Fruit and/or plant part can be nuisances; use fruitless varieties if possible. Sucker (sprout) growth can be a problem. Rarely should be planted, though limited use in specific situations may be justified.

Landscape Use: This tree is somewhat attractive, but grows quickly and can be weedy, readily sprouting and reproducing from seed. There are many better trees than this. Zones 8-10.

Cultivars: 'Jade Snowflake', 'Umbraculiformis'.

Characteristics

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