Azadirachta indica A.Juss.

Taxonomy: Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Sapindales > Meliaceae > Azadirachta > A. indica

Description: Evergreen trees, to 20 m; bark greyish-brown, vertically striated; exudation red, sticky. Leaves imparipinnate, alternate, estipulate; rachis 14-30 cm long, slender, swollen at base, glabrous, leaflets 7-15, opposite or sub opposite, estipellate; petiolule 3-5 mm long, slender, glabrous; lamina 4.5-lanceolate or falcate, base oblique, apex acuminate, margin serrate, glabrous, coriaceous; lateral nerves 10-18 pairs, pinnate, slender, prominent, intercostae reticulate, faint. Flowers bisexual, 8 mm across, white, in axillary panicles; bracteoles scaly; pedicel 5 mm; sepals 5, connate at base, ovate, margin ciliate; petals 5, free, white, oblong-obovate, pubescent, spreading, imbricate; staminal tube 4 mm long, glabrous, apically 10 lobed; lobes truncate; anthers 10, slightly exserted, apiculate, opposite to lobes, sessile; ovary superior, globose, 3-celled; ovules 2 per cell; style slender, elongate; stigma terete, 3-lobed. Fruit a drupe, oblong-ovoid, greenish-yellow; seed one, surrounded by a sweet pulp.

Flowering and Fruiting: February - September

Uses: Durable and termite resistant timber used to make temple idols. Twigs serve as ready-to-use toothbrushes in rural India. Wood, leaves and seeds have broad antibacterial and insecticidal properties. Bark, leaves, flowers and seeds yield oil and used extensively for medicinal purposes. Wood is resistant to termite attacks. Leaves are bitter, eaten raw, or fried, sometimes prepare curry along with pounded rice. In Assam it is valued as medicine for stomach pain, worm infection, skin diseases. In most families leaves were kept under bed to prevent tick etc. It is highly valued as air purifier

Cultivation: Common in plains from the coast to 900m. Also cultivated widely.

References

http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org

https://indiabiodiversity.org