Melia azedarach

China berry, persian lilac, Persian Lilac

Family: Meliaceae · Type: tree · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

China berry is a naturalized tree found in southern California bioregions including San Francisco Bay, Southern California Coast, San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains, and Peninsular Ranges in washes, riparian areas, and coastal scrub at elevations below 1,280 meters. Flowering from March to July, this tree produces white to lilac fragrant flowers with purple filament tubes that age to black. Growing to 10 meters tall with broadly spreading branches and furrowed bark, it develops a distinctive canopy structure. Its large compound leaves reach 20 to 40 centimeters long, featuring 5 to 9 primary leaflets with 5 to 7 secondary leaflets that are ovate to lanceolate and toothed. The fruit is a small spherical yellow structure approximately 10 to 15 millimeters in diameter, containing a single hard seed.

Habitat: Washes, riparian areas, coastal scrub, or persisting near old habitations

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: < 1280 m

Bioregions: SnFrB, SCo, SnGb, SnBr, PR

California counties: Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, Kern, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Butte, Fresno, Kings, Colusa, Alameda, Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Yolo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, Monterey, San Diego, Santa Clara

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.