Re: Chinaberry Trees (Melia azederach)

It apparently spreads in dry disturbed areas in Hawaii.  I see it every day
in Kula Maui's mild Med Climate.  It gets up to 3000 feet in elevation and
seems to take over pastures (this is about zone 11-9 (older small daffodils
do OK here, but not tulips) what is a weed in one area may not be a weed in
another, but what is to prevent it from moving to an area that is suitable
for it to become a weed.  In many of the resort areas Australian tree ferns
are planted and they not spread however they do spread in watershed areas
and will do so if planted near by.  In this day and age with people able to
move around with relative ease plants are moving faster and getting to be
more problematic as they eventually find there way to a climate that
facilitates an invasions...

Neal (In Gardens of Hawaii) reports that "...birds are able to eat the fruit
without harm; but  it is said to poison human beings, poultry, and pigs."
Also indicated that other parts of the tree may have medicinal or insect
repellent properties.  I  have also read that it is used to make a poultice
for treatment of leprosy.

MTF
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sean A. O'Hara" <sean@support.net>
To: "Annie Hayes" <contact@anniesannuals.com>; <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2003 9:49 AM
Subject: Re: Chinaberry Trees (Melia azederach)


> At 07:10 PM 6/14/2003, Ccopuntia@aol.com wrote:
> >Melia azederach:  We have sold this tree at our nursery in the past,
> >though not at present.  It is my understanding that invasiveness is not
> >much of an issue in climates that do not get summer rainfall.  I can ask
> >around (our tree people) and see what other opinions there might be, if
> >that would help....
>
> I used to see some VERY old specimens of Chinaberry Trees (Melia
azederach)
> in the CA Central Valley when we lived in Davis.  Without exception, these
> were individuals without seedlings close by or in the general vicinity
> (though there were other weedy tree seedlings to be found).  My assumption
> was that even though these trees were planted in Victorian times (so that
> the leaves could be used between sheet for their bug-repellant
properties -
> it is related to the Neem tree), they had apparently not revealed invasive
> tendencies.
>
> This assumption was confirmed again when I did some casual consulting with
> a group who was trying to save a couple of VERY old Chinaberry Trees (in
> the path a street widening) near the old Mission in Fremont, feeling that
> they were historic landmarks.  The city was trying to persuade them to
> identify seedlings of these trees to at least have a continuous gene pool,
> but no seedlings had sprouted anywhere in the neighborhood.
>
> I saw these trees used routinely in urban areas for shade in the South of
> France.  What is nice about them is that because of the large, compound
> leaves, after leaf drop, the relative increase in light is dramatic (less
> dense twiggy growth), opening up the area for sun in winter.
>
> I've also had mixed reports about birds eating the berries.  I've observed
> birds eating them and read some references referring to this (and the
> potential spread of seedlings in climates that support them), but other
> references say that the bird DO NOT eat them because they are
> poisonous!?  The best information I can get about the poison of the
berries
> is that there is a substance in fermented berries that is toxic (not the
> berries straight).  I have never found the berries attractive to eat or
the
> least palatable looking, though they can be decorative.  They contain a
> large, rounded, hard seed which has been used for rosary beads in the past
> (a possible reason they were planted near the Mission).  I would certainly
> think that the foliage would not be good to eat, but it could be useful
for
> creating a home-brewed insecticide.
>
> The wood is also quite hard, and with a beautiful grain, highly prized by
> wood turners.
>
> Seán O.
>
> h o r t u l u s   a p t u s     -    'a garden suited to its purpose'
> Seán A. O'Hara            fax (707) 667-1173         sean@support.net
> 1034A Virginia Street, Berkeley, California 94710-1853, U.S.A.
>
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