• Family : MELIACEAE
  (Mahogany Or Neem Family)
• Family (Hindi name) : NEEM FAMILY (नीम फैमिली)
• Family (as per The APG System III) : MELIACEAE
• Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Melia azedarach L.
• Common name : Persian Lilac, Bastard Cedar, Bead tree, Indian lilac, Persian lilac, Pride of India, White Cedar
• Vernacular name : Bakaayan, Nim, Bakain, Drek (Hindi); Malay vembu (Tamil); Hucchu Bevu, Turuka Bevu (Kannada); Vettiveppa, Turuka vepa (Telugu); Mahanimbo (Oria); Maha nimba (Sanskrit); Bakavan, Bakain, Bakan nimb, Pejry (Marathi); Malaveppu, Kattuveppu, Valiyaveppu (Malayalam)
• Habit : Tree
• Habitat : Moist and dry deciduous forests
• Comments / notes : Often found in plains and hills up to 1400m. Also planted in gardens.
• Flower, Fruit : January-September
• Distribution :
  • Andhra Pradesh : Kurnool district, Srikakulam district, Chittoor district, Vishakapatnam district, Anantapur district
  • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
  • Odisha : Planted roadsides
  • Tamil Nadu : Salem district, Kanchipuram (Changalpattu-CGP) district, Coimbatore district, Dharmapuri district, The Nilgiri district, Salem district, Villipuram district, Cuddalore district, Tiruchirapalli district
• Native : W.Himalayas
• World Distribution : Himalayas, India, Myanmar, China, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Africa, Australia
• Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
• Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1; Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983; Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI; Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.
• Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Raja K Swamy, Deepak Kumar, Arun Singh R. and K. Gopalakrishna Bhat (2019). Flora of Peninsular India. http://peninsula.ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Melia azedarach. Downloaded on 2 April 2025.

Botanical Description

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