MELIA AZADIRACHTA. (Nat. ord. Meliaeese.) 



J: or Gen. Char, see under " M, eomposita." 



jNxELIA AZADIRACHTA. (L.) Leaves simply pinnate, leaflets ovate lanceolate, unequal sided, acuminated serrated, 

 panicles axillary, flowers small white, fruit purple size of au olive, 1-celled 1 -seeded. Roxb. Fl. Ind. ii. 394 ; — Aria bepou. Bheede 

 Mai. 4 to 52. Azadiraclita Indica, Ad. de Juss.; — IP. A. Prod. p. 118. 



This has been separated from the genus Melia under the name of Azadirachta by Ad,, de Juss. on account of its 1-celled, 1-seeded nut. 

 Hook and Bentham, however, unite the 2 genera. 



Called in Eindoostani the Nim, by which name the tree is well known throughout India. It is an ornamental tree, and is very much 

 planted in avenues and topes ; it is common throughout India, Birmah, and Ceylon, generally in a planted state, though occasionally in t he forests ; 

 it qroxus well in almost any soil in the plains, and occasionally attains a very large girth. It is called Veypam in Tamil, Y&pd or Yepa in Telugoo, 

 Eohomba in Ceylon, and is the Margosa tree of Europeans. The wood is very like mahogany, beautifully mottled, hard and heavy ; it is much 

 used for cart wheels and ordinary building purposes, and old trees yield a first-rate furniture wood which is well adapted for ship-building ; it is 

 much used in Bengal in the manufacture of idols, as it is so bitter that no instct will attack it. The bark is very bitter and is used as a substitute 

 for Quinine, the leaves beaten into a pulp are externally applied with great efficacy in case of pustular eruptions in rheumatism, and for bruises, 

 and .'prains, and the leaves are said to be useful in keeping away the boring worm from books : the dried leaves are often added to common poultices 

 by the natives, and are said to act in preventing glandrdar tumours from coining to maturity. The fruit yields an acrid bitter oil, which is 

 exported from the Madras Presidency ; it is said to have valuable antispasmodic properties, and is anthelmintic and stimulant. It is used by the 

 natives as a remedy in leprosy and as a liniment for rheumatic affections ; it is obtained by boiling or expression, is oj a deep yellow color, and is 

 used for burning in lamps. The bark yields a gum which is said to be a stimulant. A toddy, called Veypam Khalloo, is obtained from young trees. 



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