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Azadirachta indica A.
Juss.
Synonym : Melia azadirachta
L.
Family : Meliaceae
Local Names
: Aryaveepu, Neem, Indian
lilac, Margosa Tree
Flowering and
fruiting period:
February – September
Distribution: Indo-Malesia
Habitat: Dry deciduous forests, also
widely planted
IUCN status: Least concern
Endemic: No
Uses: Fruits edible, Ayurvedic,
firewood, drought tolerant, young leaves edible, anti-helminthic. A very bitter
flavour, they are often eaten as a pre-meal appetizer. Among its many benefits,
the one that is most unusual and immediately practical is the control of farm
and household pests. Some entomologists now conclude that neem has such
remarkable powers for controlling insects that it will usher in a new era in
safe, natural pesticides
Key Characters: Neem, an evergreen tree with
bark greyish-brown having verticale striations. Leaves imparipinnate,
alternate, rachis slender and swollen
