Trees · Meliaceae

Chinaberry

Melia azedarach

Spanish MeliaCatalan MèliaIntroduced6–12 mDeciduous

Tree of the chinaberry — Tree · Photo: Majestic Lin, CC BY-SA 4.0

Clusters of little yellow berries hanging from the bare branches all winter.

LeafBroad and flat
LeafLeaflets made of leaflets
ShapeOval
ShapeSpear-shaped
EdgeToothed
On the twigOne at a time, staggered
In winterNo, it loses them
BarkFurrowed
BarkSmooth
FruitFleshy

The leaf

A large leaf, divided twice, with many oval or lance-shaped leaflets with toothed edges. It is bright green and has a slight smell when crushed.

The bark

Smooth and reddish brown on young trees; on mature ones it opens into long fissures.

The fruit

Fleshy little balls 1 to 1.5 cm across, green and then yellow, in clusters. They stay on the tree after the leaves have fallen. They are poisonous to people.

The flower

Small lilac, star-shaped flowers with five petals, in loose, very fragrant clusters. It flowers in spring.

Habit

A small or medium-sized tree with a rounded, fairly open crown.

Where it grows

Planted in streets and squares in many Catalan towns, especially near the coast. It comes from Asia and copes well with drought and heat.

What it can be mistaken for

The jacaranda also has twice-divided leaves, but much finer, like a fern, and opposite. The tree of heaven has leaves divided only once and winged fruit.

A story

Its stones, hard and with a hole through the middle, were strung together to make rosaries, which is where its Catalan name comes from: arbre dels paternòsters, the "Our Father tree".

Find out more

Photos from Wikimedia Commons:

Tree: Majestic Lin, CC BY-SA 4.0
Leaf: JonRichfield, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bark: Philmarin, CC BY-SA 4.0
Fruit: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us
Flower: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us