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Botanical Family · Sapindales

Meliaceae

Mahogany/Neem family

27 speciesOrder Sapindales8+ well-known plants

The mahogany family of trees and shrubs, containing some of the world's most prized timbers including mahogany (Swietenia) and toon (Toona). Neem (Azadirachta indica) — renowned for its medicinal and pesticidal properties — is perhaps the most globally utilised member.

Browse all 27 species ↓
Representative MELIACEAE specimen
Representative specimen · Meliaceae
Key pattern

Pinnately compound, often aromatic leaves on trees prized for timber; the stamens fuse edge-to-edge into a distinctive tube encircling the ovary, a structure that persists and stays visible even after the petals fall.

Home to some of the world's most valuable hardwood timbers (mahogany, toon) alongside neem, whose intensely bitter limonoid compounds are used across traditional medicine and as a natural pesticide.

Identify the species

Which Meliaceae species is this?

Answer what you can see and narrow it down to a single Meliaceae species.

Click a node to trace its path · pinch or scroll to zoom · drag to pan
Leaf TypeIs the leaf a single blade, or divided into leaflets?
Bipinnately compound
Bipinnately compound (doubly divided, fern-like)
Pinnately compound
Pinnately compound (leaflets in rows along a stalk)
Simple (single blade)
Trifoliate (three leaflets)
Flower ColorWhat color are the flowers?
Purple
White
White/cream
Yellow
HabitWhat is the plant's growth habit?
Shrub
Tree
HabitWhat is the plant's growth habit?
Large tree
Small tree/shrub
Tree
HabitWhat is the plant's growth habit?
Large tree
Shrub
Small tree
Tree
Flower ColorWhat color are the flowers?
White
White/cream
HabitWhat is the plant's growth habit?
Shrub
Small tree
HabitWhat is the plant's growth habit?
Subshrub/herb
Tree

How to recognise the Meliaceae family

  • 01

    Pinnate leaves, often aromatic

  • 02

    Stamens fused into a tube

  • 03

    Capsule, drupe, or berry; large seeds

Typical leaf characters

Characters typical of the family — individual species can vary.

Typical flower & fruit

Typical of the family — flowering plants only; species can vary.

Notable members

Chakoola TreeAglaia elaeagnoideaFour-Petal AglaiaAglaia lawiiChinese Perfume PlantAglaia odorataMangalore AglaiaAglaia perviridisSimple-Leaved AglaiaAglaia simplicifoliaPithraj Tree, Rohituka TreeAphanamixis polystachyaThe Neem Tree, Margosa, Indian Lilac, Neem, Nimbay, PichumardaAzadirachta indicaSpanish CedarCedrela odorata

All 27 species in MELIACEAE

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