Melia.] XXI. MELIACE^E. 67 



1. M. indica.* Syn. M. Azadirachta, Linn. ; Eoxb. FL Ind. ii. 394 ; 

 Bedd. Fl. Sylv. t. 13. Azadirachta indica, Juss. ; Wight Ic. t. 17; W. 

 & A. Prodr. 118. The Neem tree. Sans. Nimba ; Pers. Azdd-dirakht. 

 Vern. Nim. Local names : Betain, Kamaon ; Limbo, C.P. ; Nimari, Sindh. 



Leaves imparipinnate, 9-15 in. long; leaflets 9-13, nearly opposite, 

 shortly petiolate, 1-3 in. long, unequal-sided, ovate-lanceolate, sometimes 

 falcate, deep and sharply serrate, acuminate, glabrous. Flowers white, with 

 a strong smell of honey, especially at night, pentamerous, on short slender 

 pedicels, with short scattered hairs, in large axillary panicles, shorter than 

 leaf ; bracts small, caducous. Calyx small, flat, with 5 rounded, obtuse 

 segments. Petals spathulate, obliquely imbricate in bud. Anthers 10, 

 linear, inserted opposite and below the teeth of the staminal tube. Ovary 

 3-celled. Drupe ovoid-oblong, size of an olive, smooth, dark purple when 

 ripe ; putamen cartilaginous, 1 -celled, 1 -seeded, reticulate outside. 



A common tree throughout the greater part of India, as far west as the Sutlej ; 

 planted or self-sown, but (in N.W. India) nowhere really wild in the original 

 forest. West of the Sutlej it is comparatively rare, and much smaller in size. 

 Beyond the Jhelam it disappears altogether. Ascends to 5000 ft. in Kamaon. 

 Never leafless ; the fresh leaves issue in March and April before the old leaves 

 fall. Flowers March-May ; fruit ripens in July and August. Grows readily 

 from seed ; seedlings require shelter from frost in NW. India ; when cut, throws 

 up abundant and vigorous coppice-shoots ; growth fairly quick, 3-4 rings per in. 

 radius. 



A large tree, 40-50 ft. and higher, with a straight trunk, not long, attaining a 

 girth of 6-9 ft., and a broad, rounded crown of dark-green foliage. Bark of trunk 

 ^ in. thick, inner substance reddish brown or yellow, outside grey, with scattered 

 small tubercles between numerous dark longitudinal and oblique wrinkled 

 furrows. 



Sapwood yellowish white ; heartwood red or brown, especially the inner part, 

 compact, closer than that of M. Azedarach. The weight of unseasoned wood 

 is 55-60 lb. (Skinner), that of seasoned wood 45-52 lb. per cub. ft. Value of 

 P. 539 (Puckle), 587 (Cunningham), and 720 (Skinner). Somewhat resembles 

 mahogany, takes a beautiful polish ; in South India much employed for furni- 

 ture. Fairly durable, bitter, so that white ants or other insects will not touch 

 it. Used for construction, cart-building, shipbuilding, and agricultural imple- 

 ments. Held sacred by Hindus, and used for making idols. 



From incisions in the trunk near the base, made in spring, issues a quantity of 

 sap, often flowing for weeks ; used as a stomachic and cooling drink. A gum, 

 used as a stimulant, exudes from the bark. From the fruit is extracted, by 

 boiling or pressure, a fixed, acrid, bitter oil (margosa), deep yellow, with strong 

 disagreeable flavour. It is used medicinally, in dyeing, as an antiseptic and an- 

 thelmintic, and is burnt in lamps. It is said to be expressed from the pulp, 

 and not from the seed. It is exported from Madras, chiefly to Ceylon. The 

 seeds are employed to kill insects, and for washing the hair. The leaves are 

 bitter, and are used medicinally ; the bark is very bitter, and is used as a sub- 

 stitute for Peruvian bark (Pharm. Ind. 53). 



* There is no sufficient ground for maintaining Melia and Azadirachta as distinct 

 genera, and I follow the authors of the Gen. Plant, in reuniting them. But the Linnaean 

 names, M. Azadirachta for the Nim, and M. Azedarach for the Bakain, cannot remain 

 side by side, as they are merely different modes of spelling the same word. This 

 compels me to take Jussieu's specific name indica. 



