# Neem (Azadirachta indica)

> 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.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/azadirachta-indica · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: Nim, Margosa, Indian lilac
- Family: Meliaceae
- Type: Broadleaf evergreen
- Mature height: 15 m; spread 10 m
- Growth: Fast growing; lives about 200 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 10 to 12
- Light: Full sun
- Water: Low water
- Soil: Wide range of neutral to alkaline soils, best at pH 6.2-7; thrives on shallow stony or sandy ground; dies in waterlogged soil
- Native range: Native to the Indian subcontinent and mainland South-East Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam); WCVP treats India as introduced while ICRAF and Indian sources list it native.

**Benefits:** Shade, Drought tolerant, Fast canopy, Pollinators, Windbreak, Birds

**Good for:** Street tree, Yard shade, Agroforestry, Windbreak, Timber

**Watch out for:** Invasive elsewhere, Heavy litter

## 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.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** Bangladesh; India (Native per ICRAF and Indian authorities (WCVP records it as introduced); planted in every state); Myanmar (Burma); Pakistan (Per ICRAF); Thailand
- **Adapted:** QLD, Australia (Not a prohibited or restricted invasive plant under the Biosecurity Act 2014 but naturalising in Gulf riverbeds; general biosecurity obligation applies); Ghana (Introduced); Kenya (Introduced; widely planted on the coast); Nigeria (Introduced; the main shade tree of the Sahel); Senegal (Introduced)
- **Prohibited:** NT, Australia (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 seeds)

## Sources

- https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb2/speciesprofile.php?Spid=271
- https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Azadirachta_indica.PDF
- https://nt.gov.au/environment/weeds/weeds-in-the-nt/A-Z-list-of-weeds-in-the-NT/neem
- https://www.business.qld.gov.au/industries/farms-fishing-forestry/agriculture/biosecurity/plants/invasive/other/neem-tree
- https://www.gbif.org/species/3190474
- https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=282701