Azadirachta indica A.Juss., Meliaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 5 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Antelaea azadirachta (L.) Adelbert

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Indian lilac, margosa, neem, nim

French: margosier

Habit:  tree

Description:  "A large tree.  Leaves 20-30 cm long, crowded near the ends of the branches, pinnate.  Leaflets 10-12, 7 X 2.5 cm, serrate.  Flowers white, scented.  Anthers 10.  Ovary 3-celled.  Drupes ovoid-oblong, smooth, yellow when ripe."  (Maheshwari, 1963; p. 99)

"A large glabrous evergreen tree, heartwood red, hard.  Leaflets 7-9 pair, often alternate, obliquely falcate-lanceolate, serrate, the odd one often wanting.  Flowers white, strongly honey-scented, pentamerous, in axillary panicles shorter than leaf.  Staminal tube 10-dentate, anthers inserted within the tube opposite its teeth.  Drupe the size of an olive, yellow, afterwards purple, kernel cartilaginous, 1-celled, 1-seeded, cotyledons plane-convex, fleshy, notched at base"  (Brandis, 1907; p. 139).

Habitat/ecology:  Commonly cultivated in semi-arid to wet tropical and subtropical regions.  Can grow on dry, infertile sites but grows best when it has adequate water.  In Fiji, "cultivated and sparingly naturalized at low elevations"  (Smith, 1985; p. 530).

Propagation:  Seed, fruits distributed by birds and bats. May sucker from the roots. Can also reproduce from cuttings.

Native range:  India into Malesia as far as Java (Smith, 1985; p. 530).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2000) (p. 32)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Sykes, Bill (year unknown)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (1998) (p. 24)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1985) (p. 530) Vouchers cited: DA 11757, DA 7250, DA 18850, DA 2064
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1959) (voucher ID: BISH 15188) Taxon name on voucher: Azadirachta indica A.Juss.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1976) (voucher ID: BISH 417165) Taxon name on voucher: Azadirachta indica A.Juss.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 40)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced cultivated	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2006) (p. Voucher specimen) Vouchers cited: T. Flynn 3091 (BISH 560018), C. Imada 2001-72 (BISH 683552)
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 107) Rare.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 100) Vouchers cited: MacKee 34891, MacKee 42476
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)		Waterhouse, Barbara (year unknown)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	introduced cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 144)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 144)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced invasive	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 144)

Comments:  Some naturalizing occurring on the Cape York, Peninsula, Queensland, Australia (Barbara Waterhouse, pers. com.).

Additional information:  Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.

Additional online information about Azadirachta indica is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Azadirachta indica may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1959. Voucher specimen #BISH 15188 (Koroiveibau, D. 11757).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1976. Voucher specimen #BISH 417165 (Vodonaivalu, S. 18850).

Brandis, D. 1907. Indian trees. Archibald Constable & Co., London. p. 139.

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2006. Annotated checklist of cultivated plants of Hawai‘i (online searchable database).

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 1998. Checklist of the plants of Pohnpei. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 21 pp.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Maheshware, J. K. 1963. The flora of Delhi. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi.

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 40:1-69. .

Smith, Albert C. 1985. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 3. 758 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2000. Observations on invasive plant species in American Samoa.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 51 pp.

Sykes, Bill. 0. Bill Sykes, pers. com.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Waterhouse, Barbara. 0. Barbara Waterhouse, pers. com.