Melia azedarach, commonly known as the chinaberry tree, pride of India, bead-tree, Cape lilac, syringa berrytree, Persian lilac, Indian lilac, or white cedar, is a species of deciduous tree in the mahogany family, Meliaceae, that is native to Indomalaya and Australasia.
The fully grown tree has a rounded crown, and commonly measures 7–12 metres (20–40 feet) tall, exceptionally 45 m (150 ft).
The leaves are up to 50 centimetres (20 inches) long, alternate, long-petioled, two or three times compound (odd-pinnate); the leaflets are dark green above and lighter green below, with serrate margins.
The flowers are small and fragrant, with five pale purple or lilac petals, growing in clusters.
The fruit is a drupe, marble-sized, light yellow at maturity, hanging on the tree all winter, and gradually becoming wrinkled and almost white.
Melia azedarach has a short lifespan, averaging about 20 years.
Melia azedarach should not be confused with the Azadirachta trees, which are in the same family, but a different genus.
Its common name derives from the fact that its range includes China and it produces berries.
Some hummingbirds like the sapphire-spangled emerald (Amazilia lactea), glittering-bellied emerald (Chlorostilbon lucidus) and planalto hermit (Phaethornis pretrei) have been recorded as feeding on and pollinating the flowers; these only take it opportunistically.
Bees and butterflies do not use the flower (or the nectar) so it serves no pollinator benefit in the US.
Pests such as cape lilac tree caterpillars, Leptocneria reducta, can severely defoliate the tree and cause a lot of damage to the tree in Australia.
Fungal plant pathogen Pseudocercospora subsessilis is found on the leaves of the tree, causing leaf spots.
