Talk:Azadirachta indica

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uses of neem powder

Temperature Control

Added by an anon 64.180.252.205:

Supposedly the shade under a neem tree is up to 4 degrees cooler then under other trees. This wisdom was so popular, that by the time of British occupation, when the British laid out the Indian capital, New Delhi, at the beginning of the last century, they planted avenues of Neem as a natural air conditioner for the new city.

The bit about the 'cooler than under other trees' is highly improbable; the rest (that it should be planted as a street tree) is not of any particular note. Can anyone provide any verification? - MPF 10:05, 26 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It's not impossible, that's for sure. Different plants reflect and absorb different levels of infrared radiation to suit their needs and environment, which proves to be very handy for law enforcement when they look for cannabis (a tropical plant ) hidden between and around other plants for camouflage in areas north of the tropics. On the screen, cannabis shines brightly in contrast to the native plants around them, all of which have evolved for the colder weather. Any plant which is 1. an evergreen 2. evolved for the desert 3. in equatorial latitudes will likely have stronger protection than cannabis.

Still, it is not highly likely that anybody has bothered to investigate it at a level suitable for reference here. Most of what is known about the plant is local knowledge and oral tradition and it isn't profitable to dig up lore that may get in the way of patentable technological or biological resources. Try a deeper historical search of the Royal Society Biology Letters, Philosophical Transactions B or Proceedings B if you are in London (the online resources don't go back very far) and you might get lucky. Aaron Walkhouse (talk) 16:37, 17 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Okay, we now have a photo of the genuine Neem tree in an Indian resident's yard. The photo shows both the leaves and blossom. You may view it here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neville_misquitta/428289723/ (see talking point #5 below for reference to the discrepancies.--LW

Okay, we now have a photo of a genuine Neem tree from the backyard of a resident of India. You'll find it here: [1]

Refer to talking point number 5 below for the discrepancies being validated with this photo.

I guess identification (and picture) and message on temperature on the other hand are two separate things. I would like to see some scinetific proof on the temperature question or have the item removed. The fact that the British have used this tree as street liners is no proof whatsoever. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.173.245.87 (talk) 10:46, 9 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Possible Identification Confusion Between Neem and Chinaberry Tree

I am having a discussion with some Eastern members of a gardening group about the Neem tree. In that discussion, we're trying to discover if the tree is also present here in the U.S or if it is only in the India area.

We've been looking at your two sites here for Neem and Chinaberry (link to Chinaberry is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinaberry) and are coming up with several discrepancies and believe the Wiki text and images may be incorrect. I'll crosspost from our discussion of the problems:

1. Just found some other common names for it. Now I recognize it. We call it either Indian Lilac or Chinaberry or Umbrella Tree. It is classified as a poisonous, invasive plant here.
Here's a page on it as known in the US. It grows here in the Southeast US.
http://www.galvbayinvasives.org/Guide/Species/MeliaAzedarach

Hmm, so it is in common use in India but considered highly toxic here.

2. I'm getting confused. It sounds like we're talking about two different trees.
Check these pages out and compare:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neem
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Order: Sapindales
Family: Meliaceae
Genus: Azadirachta
Species: A. indica

Neem (Azadirachta indica, syn. Melia azadirachta L., Antelaea azadirachta (L.) Adelb.) is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus Azadirachta, and is native to India and Burma, growing in tropical and semi-tropical regions. Other vernacular names include Margosa, Nimtree, Nimba, Vepu, Vempu, Veppam (Tamil), Vepa(Telugu) and Indian-lilac.

and this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinaberry
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Sapindales
Family: Meliaceae
Genus: Melia
Species: M. azedarach

The Chinaberry or Bead Tree (Melia azedarach; syn. M. australis, M. japonica, M. sempervivens), is a deciduous tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae, native to India, southern China and Australia. It is also occasionally known as Persian Lilac, White Cedar and other names.

While the Galbay website calls it:
Chinaberry, pride of India, Indian lilac, umbrella tree Melia azedarach and does not refer to it as Neem.

Compare the classifications and imaages. I think we're talking about two slightly different trees.

3. Nope, I think the Wikipedia site is incorrect. Two more university websites refer to the same tree as Neem and Chinaberry.
http://trees.stanford.edu/ENCYC/MELIAaz.htm
http://www.forestry.auburn.edu/samuelson/dendrology/
The last one has images also. They look similar but not the same.
I'm not going to assume they are the same tree with different common names. Lots more images here.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/133516/

4. You have put up a good information and also forced me to get more precise information about neem.

I have read the information about neem and chinaberry from the links and then went outside to see the trees growing on my street.

On the basis of my observation and I was also astonished that according to the close up picture of chinaberry two trees in my vacinity are chinaberry and third tree is neem. But the confusion is that I have seen flowers of the 3 trees they look the same and have light sweet fragnance, the flowers are whitish to some bit of purple petals one or two. flowers are in the form of racemes. The leaves of neem and chinaberry are very closely alike.

The trees in my street have shattered very few leaves. the wheather is changing and new buds are developing and I remember that they will also flower in after 2 months. The fruit is greenish when fresh and yellowish white when ripe. hard and dry have bead like seed in the centre. I have never seen anyone eating it.

In my country, India, two more related species are also grown commonly for shelter purposes. They are small in size I mean have height up to 3 to 5 meters. They have similar leaves, flowering habits and fruit like the above two. I will post pictures of all these trees for your close observation and I will also look in my library for the common english names of all these four trees.

5. Chinaberry and neem tree are two different plants. the wikipedia site has incorrect picture of neem tree. Neem tree has long leaves like finger, while the other plant shown as Chinaberry is commonly known as 'kari patta' in Pakistan. 'kari' is the name of a dish and 'patta' means leave. We use its leaves in that dish to make it more delicious.

Although neem tree has many advantages but in Pakistan it is commonly used to keep the mosquitoes away. I don't have a picture of neem tree at this moment because it is very common. By the way neem can not grow well in containers but Chinaberry can be grown in containers.

If the Wiki editors would like a link to our discussion to participate or observe as it develops, here it is: http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=1874&tid=2513357231748148463&na=1&nst=1

Not sure if that will work as a direct link without you being a registered member of Orkut. Have never participated in the editing of Wiki before so if something is inappropirate about my attempt to communicate the confusion, please correct while leaving the conflicting sources and questions.

209.247.23.182 02:25, 3 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Commercial production

I'm confused about the statement in the article, "Commercial plantations of the trees are not considered profitable." That brings me to ask if commercial plantations are not profitable, where do commercial preparations of neem oil that are available in US home improvement and gardening stores get the neem oil that they use? Is it harvested in the wild??? Or is it obtained from plantations, just not profitable ones? Does anyone have a citation for this claim? Oswald Glinkmeyer 23:40, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

After a bit of poking around--The source article (Note 1) refers to a study in Australia that suggests that neem plantations in Australia are not profitable. Surely someone is growing the stuff commercially to supply the US marketers. Oswald Glinkmeyer 23:47, 19 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Might want to talk to these guys: http://abaconeem.com/. I don't know if they Supply the US at all, but they're certainly profitable. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 206.48.0.60 (talk) 18:28, 25 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The first time a patent on biotech was revoked involved Neem and it's use as a pesticide.

Here's just the top five links I found in a search which yielded over 50:

I don't have a lot of experience with editing the wiki yet. How do you think I should squeeze this in? It's the first time it happened and there's no end to the references we can use. That's got to be encyclopedic, right? ;) Aaron Walkhouse (talk) 17:03, 17 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Neem leaves are excellent cure for mouth ulcers.

Mouth Ulcers or Sore Cankers seems have no remedy and generally get cured by itself by a week if not in 7days!

 I found that very tenders Neem leaves which are reddish in color and have less bitter taste

than green/dark green leaves, when chewed properly cure the mouth ulcers within a day or two. Strangely Neem powder which is available commercially doesnt have such effect. Also chewing the leaves improves dental hygiene and sensitive gums. Many people in west say that gargling wih Chlor-Hexedyne cures Mouth Ulcers but I didnt experience such relief even after 4days. People who cant stand the bitter taste of neem leaves can add honey to paste made from tender neem leaves and apply same on mouth ulcers to get quick relief.

Purushottam1950 (talk) 04:21, 10 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]