When I live on in North Florida , I was driving down the route one Clarence Day and arrive across a fruiting tree I had n’t seen before .
Could these fruits be edible?I wondered . I tasted one cautiously and it was sweet-scented , but I spat it out because I am always a very , very cautious naturalist .
plant life can kill you . Do n’t try this at home .
After encounter this tree , then take down several others along the railway line tracks , I asked around and did some searching . finally , I found out it was a chinaberry Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , AKAMelia azedarach .
I also find outIT ’S EVIL !
“ When Chinaberry was introduce into the U.S. as an ornamental its natural opposition ( diseases or insects ) were not brought along with it to maintain its populations at low grade . Along Florida ’s road side , in natural domain and forests , and marshes Chinaberry has the ability to grow rapidly and displace the native botany in those area . Through prolific reproduction via source as well as vegetal replication , it is able to shade out other species by forming a dense thicket . The leaf litter produce by Chinaberry causes the soil to become more alkaline , give an advantage to those species that comely well in alkaline stain . Chinaberry is also believed to have allelopathic properties , interdict other species to colonize the surface area in close propinquity to Chinaberry . Overall Chinaberry reduces the plant life variety in any expanse in which it turn . ”
I left the one growing in my comestible landscape labor – we ’ll see how allelopathic it really is .
But wait , UF is downright friendly compare to the Chinaberrywrite - up at the Texas Invasive Species Institute :
“ These Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree rise rapidly from several base sprouts and they create thick thicket where aboriginal plant species get crowded out . Chinaberry tree can make monocultures and lower biodiversity amongst native ecosystems . Also , this tree diagram has allelopathic effects and is insubordinate to aboriginal insect and pathogens , making it a fierce competitor against native trees and almost unacceptable to exterminate with biological controls . All contribution of the industrial plant , specially the fruit are venomous to humans , some livestock , and mammal , include cats and dogs . Symptoms post - use include vomiting , diarrhoea , breathing difficulty or paralysis . kine and some birds can eat the berries without harm . The leafage bedding material can deepen the nitrogen , aluminium and alkaline level in the land which causes unnecessary chemical changes in the ecosystem . Moreover , bees and butterflies do not apply the flower so it serves no pollinator benefit . Some studies have tried using chinaberry - base insecticides against other invasive insects ; however , that is the only potential benefit of this invading tree , which is not really enough to absolve its front in the ecosystems . ”
Heavens ! Lawd have mercifulness , I ’m a getting the vapors !
Despite the bad press , Chinaberry has some good uses .
First , it ’s a congener of mahogany and has quite beautiful wood . You cansee depiction at The Wood Database .
In that office , The Wood Database connect chinaberry is :
“ sometimes called “ Persian Lilac , ” though the name usually rather refer to a intercrossed lilac in the Syringa genus . Chinaberry is not tight related to reliable lilacs , but is rather related to to the various types of Mahogany in the Meliaceae home . Chinaberry is a potentially commercially worthful timber tree diagram throughout its born range in Asia , though perhaps under - utilize and under - appreciated . ”
There are some chunks of wood laying around at the resort from where some tree diagram were cut a year ago . mayhap I ’ll get some of it sawed up and see what it wait like for myself .
Other than wood , the tree has skillful flowers and an airy ontogeny pattern . It also grows back smartly when cut , intend it may be a good chop - and - drop tree , though the allelopathy might be a problem .
It also has very heavy seed which can be used for beading :
Overall , like many invasive species , I ’d say this tree is n’t as bad as promote .
I ’m allow for the tree you’re able to see in this video :
If it ’s really terrible and the plants beneath it die , we ’ll just mulch the area and hold off a few age , then cut that thing down for timberland .
- Image of fruit chinaberry viahttps://www.flickr.com/photos/mauroguanandi/. originative third estate license .
