Trees or shrubs; indumentum of simple, glandular and tufted-stellate hairs
Leaves 2- or 3-pinnate; leaflets crenate or serrate
Flowers bisexual and male on same individual (polygamous); in panicles
Petals imbricate
Staminal tube narrowly cylindrical; anthers 10, shortly apiculate, alternating with a pair of narrowly deltate appendages
Disc annular, crenulate, free from ovary and staminal tube
Ovary with 4-8 locules, each with 2 superposed ovules; style head capitate with 4-8 short, erect or incurved stigmatic lobes
Fruit a 3-8-locular drupe; locules usually 1-seeded
Seeds without wing or aril
x = 7 (polyploidy)
Nomenclature:
*Melia L.
Linnaeus: 384 (1753)
White & Styles: 315 (1963)
White & Styles: 49 (1986)
Distribution & Notes:
Southern Africa: Species 1: *Melia azedarach L., referred to as Seringa or Persian Lilac; widely planted as ornamentals, and in places it is naturalised and has become a serious invader
References:
LINNAEUS, C. 1753. Species plantarum. Laurentius Salvius, Stockholm
WHITE, F. & STYLES, B.T. 1963. Meliaceae. Flora zambesiaca 2
WHITE, F. & STYLES, B.T. 1986. Meliaceae. Flora of southern Africa 18, 3
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Welcome to Biodiversity Advisor 2.0!
Biodiversity Advisor, developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and its Data Partners, is a system that will provide integrated biodiversity information to a wide range of users who will have access to geospatial data, plant and animal species distribution data, ecosystem-level data, literature, images and metadata.
The integrated information comes from our much-loved Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA) also known as Plants of Southern Africa (POSA), Zoological Database of Southern Africa (ZODATSA), Biodiversity Geographic Information System (BGIS), SANBI's institutional repository (Opus) and others.
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In future, Team SANBI will be able to log in using their day-to-day login details, BGIS users will be able to use their existing accounts and details, and general users will be able to log in using their LinkedIn profile, but for now you will need to create an account.
