TreeRM

Neem

Azadirachta indica 路 Meliaceae 路 also Nim, Margosa, Indian lilac

A tough, usually evergreen shade tree of about 15 m (to 30 m) with a dense round crown of glossy pinnate leaves, honey-scented flowers and olive-like fruit. Neem lines village streets and roads across India and the Sahel, giving shade, firewood, fodder and the natural insecticide azadirachtin from its seed. It is a wonder tree at home but a declared weed in Australia's Northern Territory, where it invades riverbeds, and it naturalises in Queensland and parts of West Africa.

Broadleaf evergreenFast growingFull sunLow water
Neem
Wikimedia Commons, file Neem_Tree_in_Rajasthan,_India.jpg (see file page for author and licence)

Where it stands

Native

  • 馃嚙馃嚛 Bangladeshsource
  • 馃嚠馃嚦 India 路 Native per ICRAF and Indian authorities (WCVP records it as introduced); planted in every statesource
  • 馃嚥馃嚥 Myanmar (Burma)source
  • 馃嚨馃嚢 Pakistan 路 Per ICRAFsource
  • 馃嚬馃嚟 Thailandsource

Adapted

  • 馃嚘馃嚭 QLD, Australia 路 Not a prohibited or restricted invasive plant under the Biosecurity Act 2014 but naturalising in Gulf riverbeds; general biosecurity obligation appliessource
  • 馃嚞馃嚟 Ghana 路 Introducedsource
  • 馃嚢馃嚜 Kenya 路 Introduced; widely planted on the coastsource
  • 馃嚦馃嚞 Nigeria 路 Introduced; the main shade tree of the Sahelsource
  • 馃嚫馃嚦 Senegal 路 Introducedsource

Prohibited

  • 馃嚘馃嚭 NT, Australia 路 Declared Class B (growth and spread to be controlled) and Class C (not to be introduced) weed under the Weeds Management Act 2001; illegal to buy, sell or transport plants or seedssource

Care

Plant at the start of the rains in full sun and keep weed-free for two years; it will not tolerate grass competition or waterlogging. Water sparingly after the first season. Coppices and pollards well; lopping for fodder reduces seed. Scale insects, a shoot borer and mistletoe are the main pests; rats gnaw seedling bark. Seedlings are frost tender.

Benefits

ShadeDrought tolerantFast canopyPollinatorsWindbreakBirds

Good for

Street treeYard shadeAgroforestryWindbreakTimber

Watch out for

Invasive elsewhereHeavy litter