It will tolerate a variety of environmental conditions. As it ages it can develop an interesting knarled form (The fruit drop can be messy!!) It’s quick to establish and provide a dominant, attractive canopy in the landscape. It has attractive flowers and soft foliage that provides dappled shade. In winter it has yellow berries making it interesting all year round.
Origin
Queensland and New South Wales.
Habit:
Small deciduous tree. Wide spreading, broad domed canopy that develops a marked layered appearance. Fast growth rate, mature size ranges between 6-10m high x 5-8m wide.
Description:
Leaves bipinnate, large, glossy, and fresh green coloured. Bark a dark brown with shallow fissures when young becoming grey-brown and furrowed with age. Flowers purplish mauve borne in diffuse panicles in spring. Yellow berries persist during the winter.
Tolerances:
Adapts to most soils. Moderate waterlogging and drought tolerance. Not seriously affected by pest or disease.
Root space:
Based on mature size tree would require approximately 50m2 area or 30m3 root volume (crown projection method).
Availability:
Common.
Notes:
A handsome tree, berry persistence amongst winter tracery adds an element of interest, though eventual fruit drop can be a problem. Germinates readily in the right conditions, is a weed species in the northern states. Requires formative pruning.
Ref: Kellow, J. (Ed) (1994) Landscape plant manual:
Vol. 1, V.C.A.H Burnley College, Australia.
18. October 2007 at 8:42 am
Berry drop is persistant hazard causing slip and skid problems for both cars and pedestrians. Cyclists also complain. Large mature trees are often now being removed due to nuisance. Berry also toxic and all melia are being removed within proximity of schools and preschools. Tree becomes quite large,(15 x 20) unsuitable for naturestrips as hard paving suffer, kerbs and roads lift and broad spread of crown present pruning challenges to neighbouring properties. Attractive tree in open space.
7. December 2007 at 8:50 am
Metropolitan Trees have selected a form of White Cedar that produces less fruit. The variety is called ‘Elite’ see description at http://www.metrotrees.com.au/treehandbook/page-listings/melia_azedarach%20_elite.html
White Cedar is a common street tree in Melbourne, I know of no recorded instances of poisoning due to ingestion of the fruit, you would need to eat a quantity.
Thanks for the size information, tree size will differ dependent on location. The literature cited lists the dimensions.
White Cedar is not the only tree species to conflict with hard surfaces.
8. May 2008 at 3:47 am
How do I convince my local council (Moonee Valley in Melbourne) to remove the Melia Azedarach tree from the nature strip outside my home. I have six grandchildren under the age of five.
The local Parks and Gardens Manager says “it’s just a bit noxious”, and lectures me on the wonderful benefits of trees in our environment (I hadn’t noticed this before in my sixty eight years on Earth). What can I do ? sacrifice a grandchild?
Help me please.
Colin Mallett
41 Lincoln Drive,
East Keilor, Vic 3033
22. September 2008 at 2:03 pm
I just had to comment on that last comment.
To parents and grandparents living close to plants & trees that have toxic berries –
Just do what parents and grandparents have done since the dawn of humanity – go around with the children and grandchildren and point out which berries they can eat and which berries they cannot eat. I grew up on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada. I learned early on, from my elders, which berries I could eat and which others I couldn’t eat because they can make you very sick or can kill you, etc.
Try it. It works. Kids have great memories of what they can and cannot eat.
10. January 2009 at 6:46 am
Jill, thank god we have people like yourself in the world..
As a hort graduate with almost 15 years in the industry of Landscaping & Arborculture, i still find it hard to believe the solution for a problem tree is to cut it down….
Every tree drops fruit, seed, leaves, bark etc.. i have heard every story in the book about what a problem their tree is, i think it is time people started taking abit of responsibility for there own actions & stop blaming trees which have been around for 1000′s of years..
If the fruit is toxic dont eat it, it cant be any simpler than that..
For all the people, not in the know.. Just because this species is considered a weed in Queensland, it is not true for it in Victoria & the southern states where it is a fantastic street tree in almost all conditions..
8. March 2009 at 2:09 pm
Mostly relieved to read comments re instructing children not to eat berries of media azedarach. Have just planted three of them outside our community meeting hall and a community member has been extremely upset about reading the ‘children poisoning’ threat of melia’s berries. Do I have to dig them out? Comment by another writer that no case of child poisoning by melia’s berries is consoling.
16. March 2009 at 8:10 am
Pamela,
I have been involved in urban tree management for over 20 years. I have been the arborist for cities that had significant numbers of Melias either growing in streets or open space. I have never heard of anyone being poisoned by ingesting the berries from this tree. According to “Poisonous plants of South Carolina” [as seen 16 March 2009 http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Meliaaz.htm the berries are only toxic if large amounts are eaten. Other supporting information can be found with a search on the internet. Many plants can have toxiological effects on people, however reasonable behaviour would suggest they are not necessarily a huge threat to the community. Dependent on the area, this species has many other good characteristics.
4. May 2009 at 4:04 pm
The White Cedar was part of life on farms in the Riverina but I find it impossible to find a nursery with one.
17. June 2009 at 1:25 am
This is a horrible species. My 12 month old son chewed on one green berry that I unknowingly walked inside the house on the sole of my shoe. He was quite sick for about 12 hours. You cannot simply “tell” a very young child not to eat the attractive berries. If I have visitors with young children there is a constant worry that any very young ones will be damaged by this tree. Cannot cut it down as ACT has very restrictive rules on chopping down trees over a certain size.
17. June 2009 at 12:55 pm
Chris, having a sick child is a terrible thing for a parent. I know as I have 2 large hairy smelly ones myself! In our front garden or our neighbors gardens when these boys were infants we had Oleanders and Rhuss trees growing and these are also toxic but they managed to survive. One of our neighbors had a dog so I was far more concerned about other ‘material’ that they picked up and put in their mouths! As I said, having sick kids is bad…However, having a sick planet is far worse. We need more trees not less! I would point you to previous replies on this subject that note that there is no real evidence regarding the toxicity of this tree. I am glad that your son is OK and you can tell him an educating story when he gets old enough to understand.
17. June 2009 at 10:02 pm
The authoritative ANBG site indicates high toxicity. See http://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2008/melia-azedarach.html. As is often the case in scientific names – the name means a lot – “azedarach – the name given by the Persian physician Avecinnia (980-1037) to a poisonous tree”. My understanding is that toxicity has been tested by feeding plant material to sheep. The difference between dog faeces and white cedar berries is that the berries are attractive and seem like they could be eaten. Do not plant white cedar anywhere near where small kids will be.
3. September 2009 at 2:34 pm
Is the wood of this tree any good for anything?
3. September 2009 at 2:56 pm
JD,
The timber is used on the Asian continent as fuel and in construction, cabinet/ furniture making, manufacture of agricultural implements, furniture, plywood, boxes, poles …; it is reputed to be resistant to termites. Depending on your level of interest you may find the following article interesting Title:’Wood properties and utilization possibilities of Melia Azedarach from agroforestry plantations of Java, Indonesia.’
Personal Authors: Pramana Gentur Sutapa, J.,
Publisher: Cuvillier Verlag.
Abstract:
The wood properties of Melia azedarach were examined, using 30 trees with an average diameter at breast height of 35 cm from a traditional agroforestry area in northern Yogyakarta, Java. The stem quality was measured and the anatomical properties such as width of growth ring, early wood, late wood, heart wood proportion and the fibre length were determined. The drying quality such as moisture content, shrinkage, differential shrinkage, twist, cup, spring, and cracks were measured. The beams were shaped into structural size and physically and mechanically tested. The safe load and other mechanical properties were determined. The results indicate that wood from M. azedarach is suitable for building constructions. The allowable tension of Melia wood is relatively high. The wood of M. azedarach has middle specific gravity. It has good mechanical properties, elasticity and dimensional stability, and suitable for furniture and as interior design material. Dried beams of high quality can be produced using air drying and convective drying. Its differential shrinkage is in the same range as teak wood. Due to its fast growth, good stem quality and its low shading effect of the canopy, it is suitable for agroforestry and plantations.
1. June 2010 at 8:43 pm
My 16 month old son is always putting the white cedar berries in his mouth. It would be impossible to clean up all the berries in our yard, and I cant lock him indoors. Im glad to read that they are only toxic in large quantities! We are in the process of teaching him not to chew the berries and he is slowly starting to understand. Just wanted to let other parent know not to freak out as he has never become unwell from the berries. Id rather watch him carefully and teach him the right way, rather than cut this magnificent tree down – our planet needs all the trees it can get! Im more concerned about the other yucky things he puts in him mouth such as bird poo, dog biscuits etc!!
7. July 2010 at 5:26 pm
My dog used to eat lots of the berries, from our white cedar tree, off the ground in our backyard. She did this for 5 years. When she eventually passed away (aged 14) I asked the vet if the berries were the cause. The vet said the cause of death was a tumour on her uterus and she was old. He did not believe consuming the berries led to her death and that the amount of toxins from these berries was pretty low. He had never heard of a dog becoming sick from consuming them.
12. July 2010 at 6:10 pm
I can understand Chris’ concerns regarding reported toxicity of M. azedarach berries, as we are about to plant two of this species on our LARGE nature strip and have researched the topic ourselves. We have a son about to start walking and, yes, he jams everything in his gob that he can pick up. But, having read everyone’s comments both expert and layman, I am sure that, as responsible parents, we can effectively manage the “hazard” presented by this tree until such time as he decides to stop hoovering everything. We would prefer not to let him (or anyone else’s children) play unattended in the street in front of our home in any case!!