Re: off-topic: Texas and Melia azedarach

--- Richard Starkeson <johnsaia@dnai.com> wrote:
> 
> 

> I wouldn't ordinarily have an answer to a question
> about Texas, but I happen to
> know and like this tree.  It should be be more
> planted:  A tree that grows well
> there (needs some water) is Melia
> azedarach/azerdarach. (not 100% sure of the
> species spelling).  (Chinaberry, Texas Umbrella
> Tree)  There is also a form
> (umbraculiformis?) that is more compact shaped.  Has
> very fragrant flowers and hard
> berry like yellow to orange colored fruits in
> bunches that remain on the tree all
> winter.

Alessandra's observations on this tree are
entertaining, I did not know that it discouraged birds
and bird droppings, somehow that seems rather suspect,
as the fruit must attract birds, and most likely
accounts for the widespread germination of this tree
in parts of the mediterannean, it was everywhere in
Crete, and has naturalized.

It can be grown here in the San Francisco Bay Area as
well, and is not only colorful and unusual in bloom,
but fragrant and very attractive to bees.  Annie Hayes
of Annie's Annuals mentions that there is a large
blooming specimen near her nursery in Richmond,
California which is so fragrant in bloom that it can
be smelled a block away.

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