Taxon:  Azadirachta indica A. Juss.



Summary
Genus:
Azadirachta
Family:
Meliaceae
Nomen number:
6161
Place of publication:
Mém. Mus. Hist. Nat. 19:221, t. 2, fig. 5.  1832
Verified:
08/26/1993 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
18 (3  active, 2  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Azadirachta indica A. Juss. var. indica (0 active accession[s])
Azadirachta indica A. Juss. var. siamensis Valeton (0 active accession[s])
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Antelaea azadirachta (L.) Adelb.
Melia azadirachta L.

Images (2 total. Click on image for more.)
Fruit

Conservation Status

Reference(s)
  1. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
  2. APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
  3. Boutelje, J. B. 1980. Encyclopedia of world timbers, names and technical literature
  4. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1985-1992. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials (revised edition).
  5. Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
  6. Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
  7. Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
  8. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
  9. Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. 1984-. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim.
  10. Jacobs, M. 1961. The generic identity of Melia excelsa Jack. Gard. Bull. Singapore 18:74.
  11. Kala, C. P. et al. 2004. Prioritization of medicinal plants on the basis of available knowledge, existing practices and use value status in Uttaranchal, India. Biodivers. & Conservation 13:459.
  12. Koul, O. et al. 1990. Properties and uses of neem, Azadirachta indica. Canad. J. Bot. 68:1-11.
  13. Mabberley, D. J. et al. 1995. Meliaceae, Part 1. In: Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed., Flora malesiana. 12:342-343.
  14. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
  15. Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
  16. National Academy of Sciences. 1980. Firewood crops. Shrub and tree species for energy production
  17. Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
  18. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  19. Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
  20. Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
EnglishIndian-lilac  1Koul, O. et al. 1990. Properties and uses of neem, Azadirachta indica. Canad. J. Bot. 68:1-11.
Englishneem  1Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Englishnimtree  1Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Frenchmargosier  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguesemargosa  2Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Swedishnimträd  2Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNoteReference
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentBangladesh   
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaMyanmar n. 
2CultivatedAfrica Africa  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
2CultivatedAfricaWestern Indian OceanMauritius  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
2CultivatedAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaSaudi Arabia  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaThailand  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
2CultivatedAsia-TropicalMalesiaMalaysia  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
2CultivatedPacificSouthwestern PacificFiji  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
2CultivatedSouthern AmericaNorthern South AmericaGuyana  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
4NaturalizedAfrica Africa  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
4NaturalizedAfricaWestern Indian OceanMauritius  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaThailand  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalMalesiaIndonesia  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
4NaturalizedAsia-TropicalMalesiaMalaysia  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
4NaturalizedPacificSouthwestern PacificFiji  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
4NaturalizedSouthern AmericaNorthern South AmericaGuyana  Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
6Other    exact native range obscure 
Native
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bangladesh, India
  • INDO-CHINA: Myanmar (n.)
Cultivated
Africa
  • WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Mauritius
  • REGION: Africa
Asia-Temperate
  • ARABIAN PENINSULA: Saudi Arabia
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India
  • INDO-CHINA: Thailand
  • MALESIA: Malaysia
Pacific
  • SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Fiji
Southern America
  • NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Guyana
Naturalized
Africa
  • WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Mauritius
  • REGION: Africa
Asia-Tropical
  • INDO-CHINA: Thailand
  • MALESIA: Indonesia, Malaysia
Pacific
  • SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Fiji
Southern America
  • NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Guyana
Other (exact native range obscure)

Reference(s)
  1. Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
  2. Sharma, B. D. et al., eds. 1993-. Flora of India.
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Environmentalornamental National Academy of Sciences. 1980. Firewood crops. Shrub and tree species for energy production
Environmentalshade/shelter Mabberley, D. J. et al. 1995. Meliaceae, Part 1. In: Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed., Flora malesiana. 12:342-343.
Fuelsfuelwood National Academy of Sciences. 1980. Firewood crops. Shrub and tree species for energy production
Human foodvegetableeaten cooked in the Malay PenuinsulaMabberley, D. J. et al. 1995. Meliaceae, Part 1. In: Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed., Flora malesiana. 12:342-343.
Materialslipids Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
Materialswood Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
Materialswoodtmber for polesMabberley, D. J. et al. 1995. Meliaceae, Part 1. In: Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed., Flora malesiana. 12:342-343.
Medicinesfolklore Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicinesfolklore Kala, C. P. et al. 2004. Prioritization of medicinal plants on the basis of available knowledge, existing practices and use value status in Uttaranchal, India. Biodivers. & Conservation 13:459.
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Non-vertebrate poisonsdisease vector control Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
Non-vertebrate poisonsplant pest control Mabberley, D. J. et al. 1995. Meliaceae, Part 1. In: Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed., Flora malesiana. 12:342-343.
Non-vertebrate poisonsplant pest control Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds. 1997. Auxiliary plants. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 11:71-76.
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=6161. Accessed 12 May 2026.