page_title: Melia azedarach
section_title: Uses and ecology
hierarchical_section_title: Melia azedarach / Uses and ecology
caption_attribution_description: English: Bakain Melia azedarach in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
context_page_description: Melia azedarach, commonly known as the chinaberry tree, Pride of India, bead-tree, Cape lilac, syringa berrytree, Persian lilac, Indian lilac, or white cedar, is a species of deciduous tree in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, that is native to Indomalaya and Australasia.
  This tree's fruit is poisonous to humans. Once the fruit is ingested in quantity depending on its toxicity the person eating it may die after about 24 hours of ingesting the fruits. "The flowers are followed by yellow clusters of fruit which are poisonous if eaten by humans and animals although many birds seem partial to them and are not affected. Its flowers are a respiratory irritant and its leaves, bark, flowers and sometimes fruit are poisonous."
context_section_description: The main utility of chinaberry is its timber. This is of medium density, and ranges in colour from light brown to dark red. In appearance it is readily confused with the unrelated Burmese teak (Tectona grandis). Melia azedarach – in keeping with other members of the family Meliaceae – has a timber of high quality, but as opposed to many almost-extinct species of mahogany, it is under-utilised. Seasoning is relatively simple, in that planks dry without cracking or warping and are resistant to fungal infection. The taste of the leaves is not as bitter as neem (Azadirachta indica).
  The tough five-grooved seeds were widely used for making rosaries and other products requiring beads; however, the seeds were later replaced by plastics. The cut branches with mature fruit are sold commercially to the florist and landscaping trade particularly as a component for outdoor holiday décor. The fruits may persist for some time prior to shattering off the stem or discoloring, which occurs rapidly after a relatively short time in subfreezing weather. 
  Some hummingbirds like the sapphire-spangled emerald (Amazilia lactea), glittering-bellied emerald (Chlorostilbon lucidus) and planalto hermit (Phaethornis pretrei) have been recorded as feeding on and pollinating the flowers; these only take it opportunistically.
  In Kenya the trees have been grown by farmers and used as fodder trees. The leaves can be fed to cattle to improve milk yields and improve farm incomes. 
  In Australia, particularly the suburbs of Melbourne, the tree is often used in nature strip plantings by local councils. The councils plant such trees for amenity reasons as well as environmental, social and economic benefits.
caption: Indian grey hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) eating Melia azedarach fruit at Roorkee in  Haridwar District of Uttarakhand, India.
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