Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Sapindales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Melia azedarach
FAMILY
Meliaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Chinaberry at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Melia azedarach
FAMILY
Meliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Melia azedarach
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 105-01-001:
Melia azedarach FAMILY Meliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Melia azedarach
COMMON NAME:
Chinaberry, Pride-of-India
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_meaz_002_lhd
)
Keith Bradley kab_melia_azedarach_0395
January Lexington County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0405v_14
May Greenville County SC
Roadside
)
JK Marlow jkm0505e_02
May Greenville County SC
Flowers 3/4", fragrant, in clusters from nodes or leaf axils on new growth, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm0505h_09
May Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow s040517_c
May Greenville County SC
Roadside
Leaves bipinnately compound. Leaflets w tapering tips. Margins varying, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).
COMPARE
bipinnately or tripinnately compound leaves of trees
)
JK Marlow jkm0406a_04
June Greenville County SC
Roadside
Leafstalk lime green; leaf underside pale green, per Nonnative Invasive Plants of Southern Forests (Miller, 2003).
)
JK Marlow jkm0412a_21
December Greenville County SC
Roadside
Large clusters of yellow cherry-sized berries hang on after leaves fall, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm0412a_23
December Anderson County SC
Roadside
Fruit poisonous if eaten, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm111202_574
December Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm131228_492
December Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm131228_496
December Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm131228_499
December Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm131228_501
December Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
The stout twigs have no terminal bud; lateral buds are rounded, hairy, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm131228_504
December Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Bark grayish, with scaly plates and ridges, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Melia azedarach
FAMILY
Meliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Melia azedarach
FAMILY
Meliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Melia azedarach
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 105-01-001:
Melia azedarach
FAMILY
Meliaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Melia azedarach
924
Tree
Perennial
Habitat: Disturbed areas, abandoned rural yards and fields; commonly cultivated in our area (mainly in the Coastal Plain) and commonly escaped, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: southeast Asia
Common (uncommon in Mountains of GA & SC) (rare in NC Mountains)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Forest Health Assessment & Applied Sciences Team: New Invaders of the Northeast
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- US Fish & Wildlife Service
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
LEAVES:
Deciduous
2-pinnately compound
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Pinkish-lavender
5 sepals
5 petals
Stamens monadelphous
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Greenish-yellow/Yellowish-tan
Drupe
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p376
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p518
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p105
- A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests (Miller, Chambliss, & Lowenstein, 2010) p008
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p182
- New Invaders of the Northeast and Northcentral US (Rawlins et al., 2018) p047
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p350
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p079
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p198
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p212
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".