Meliaceae

plant family

Also known as: mahogany family

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Related Topics:: Cedrela; Swietenia; Entandrophragma; Guarea; Dysoxylum

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langsat fruitsEdible langsat fruits (*Lansium domesticum*). The fruits are commonly eaten raw and are grown agriculturally throughout Southeast Asia.

mahogany treesGrove of mahogany trees (*Swietenia* species), one of several species used to obtain mahogany wood. The trees are native to the neotropical regions of the Americas and have been introduced to several Asian countries as a source of commercial timber products.

Meliaceae, the mahogany family of flowering plants (order Sapindales), comprising 51 genera and about 575 species of trees and (rarely) shrubs, native to tropical and subtropical regions. Most members of the family have large compound leaves, with the leaflets arranged in the form of a feather, and branched flower clusters. The fruit is fleshy and coloured or a leathery capsule.

Trees of the genera Swietenia, Entandrophragma, and Cedrela (especially the Spanish cedar, C. odorata) are economically important timber trees and are valued as a source of mahogany wood. The neem tree, also called the margosa tree (Azadirachta indica), is grown throughout the Old World tropics, notably in India and Southeast Asia, and is a source of timber and medicinal oils and resins. Langsat (Lansium domesticum) is native to western Southeast Asia and is cultivated for its edible fruit. The chinaberry (Melia azedarach), also called bead tree and Persian lilac, is an ornamental Asian tree with round yellow fruits, often cultivated in many tropical and warm temperate areas.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.