Common name
English: Chinaberry tree, Umbrella Tree
German: Paternosterbaum
Mandarin: 楝 (lian)
Portuguese: Cinamomo
English: Chinaberry tree, Umbrella Tree
German: Paternosterbaum
Mandarin: 楝 (lian)
Portuguese: Cinamomo
Kingdom: Plantae (2629)
Phylum: Tracheophyta (2532)
Class: Magnoliopsida (2141)
Order: Sapindales (68)
Family: Anacardiaceae (19)(family description)
Genus: Melia (1)
Epithet: azedarach L. (1)
Synonyms: Antelaea javanica Gaertn., Azedara speciosa Rafin., Azedarach commelini Medic., Azedarach deleteria Moench, Azedarach odoratum Noronha, Azedarach sempervirens (L.) Kuntze, Azedarach vulgaris Gomez de la Maza, Melia angustifolia Schum. & Thonn., Melia argentea Buch.-Ham., Melia arguta DC., Melia australasica Juss., Melia australis Sweet, Melia birmanica Kurz, Melia bogoriensis Koord. & Valet., Melia bukayun Royle, Melia candollei Juss., Melia chinensis Siebold, Melia cochinchinensis M.Roem., Melia commelini Medic., Melia composita Benth., Melia dubia Cav., Melia flaccida Zipp., Melia floribunda Carriere, Melia florida Salisb., Melia guineensis G.Don, Melia hasskarlii K.Koch, Melia japonica G.Don, Melia javanica M.Roem., Melia orientalis M.Roem., Melia robusta Roxb., Melia sambucina Bl., Melia sempervirens (L.) Sw., Melia superba Roxb., Melia toosendan Sieb. & Zucc.
angustifolia => with narrow leaves
argentea => silvery
australis => southern, of the southern hemisphere
azedarach => either arab. origin or more likely from lat. cedraceus due to similarity of aromatic smelling wood with Cedrus
birmanica => from Burma (Myanmar)
candollei => in honor of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1774–1841), Swiss botanist
chinensis => of Chinese origin
cochinchinensis => from Cochinchina (old name for various southern regions of Vietnam)
composita => compound, e.g. flowers in a head
dubia => doubtful, uncertain (usually in regard to taxonomic placement)
floribunda => abundance of flowers, many flowered
florida => flowering richly
guineensis => indicates origin in the Guinea Coast
hasskarlii => in honor of Justus Carl Hasskarl (1811-1894), German explorer and botanist
japonica => from Japan
javanica => from Java, Indonesia
odoratum => sweet-smelling
orientalis => eastern
robusta => strong, big, gigantic
sambucina => elder-like, resembling Sambucus
sempervirens => evergreen, retaining leaves in winter
speciosa => beautiful
superba => superb, handsome, splendid, majestic
vulgaris => common, everyday
Climate: sub-tropical
Habitat: mesophytic
Habit: tree
Flower colour: purple, white
Check for Melia azedarach at
World Flora Online, GBIF or IPNI