Bead Tree (Melia azederach)
At a glance
- Lifecycle
- Perennial (hardy)
- Exposure
- Full sun
- Frost limit
- −6.7 °C
Cultivation
Requires a sunny sheltered position. A very ornamental tree. The flowers are produced on the current years wood and have a delicate sweet perfume. The seeds have a strong scent of musk and the wood is also musk-scented. Trees are very susceptible to forest fire, though they sprout back readily from the roots. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus.
Propagation
Seed - sow late winter in a greenhouse. The seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn. Root cuttings.
Edible uses
Leaves - cooked. Fruit. Both these reports, of edible leaves and fruits, should be treated with some caution. The fruit is poisonous according to one report where it says that the ripe fruit is more poisonous than the green fruit and that they have sometimes caused human fatalities. A cooling drink is made from the sap.
Medicinal uses
Used externally in the treatment of rheumatism. An aqueous extract reduces the intensity of asthmatic attacks. (This report does not specify the part of the plant that is used[K].) The leaf juice is anthelmintic, antilithic, diuretic and emmenagogue. The flowers and leaves are applied as a poultice in the treatment of neuralgia and nervous headache. The stem bark is anthelmintic, astringent and bitter tonic. The fruit is antiseptic and febrifuge. The seed is antirheumatic. It is used externally. The root bark is emetic, emmenagogue, purgative and vermifuge. A gum that exudes from the tree is considered by some to have aphrodisiac properties. This plant should be used with caution, preferably under the supervision of a qualified practitioner.
Material uses
The seed contains up to 40% of a drying oil. The musk-scented seeds are used as beads in rosaries. The fruits are a source of a flea powder and an insecticide. The leaves repel mosquitoes and other insects. Wood - tough, durable, moderately heavy, somewhat brittle, handsomely marked, takes an excellent polish. It has a musk-like aroma.
Habitat
Moist sunny locations.
Native range
E. Asia - N. India to China. Naturalized in the Mediterranean.