Neem (Azadirachta indica) is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is native to India and Burma, growing in tropical and semi-tropical regions. It may also be known as Antelaea azadirachta (L.) Adelb. or Melia azadirachta L.; other vernacular names include Margosa, Nimtree, Indian-lilac. Neem tree This image has been taken by Leonardo Lucantoni, who concedes it as open source material. ... Scientific classification - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Divisions Green algae land plants (embryophytes) non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses vascular plants (tracheophytes) seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongue ferns seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Families See text The Sapindales is an order of flowering plants included among the rosid subgroup of dicotyledons. ... Genera See text The Meliaceae, or the Mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly tropical trees and shrubs in the order Sapindales, characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules and by syncarpous, usually bisexual flowers borne in panicles, cymes, spikes, or clusters. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... Adrien-Henri de Jussieu (December 23, 1797 _ June 29, 1853) was a French botanist. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... Genera See text The Meliaceae, or the Mahogany family, is a flowering plant family of mostly tropical trees and shrubs in the order Sapindales, characterised by alternate, usually pinnate leaves without stipules and by syncarpous, usually bisexual flowers borne in panicles, cymes, spikes, or clusters. ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ...

Neem is a fast growing tree that can reach a height of 15-20 m, rarely to 35-40 m. It is evergreen but under severe conditions it may shed most or nearly all of its leaves. The branches are wide spread. The fairly dense crown is roundish or oval and may reach the diameter of 15-20 m in old, free-standing specimens. The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... This article is about plant types. ...

The trunk is relatively short, straight and may reach a diameter of 1.2 m. The bark is hard, fissured or scaly, and whitish-grey to reddish-brown. The sapwood is greyish-white and the heartwood reddish when first exposed to the air becoming reddish-brown after exposure. The root system consists of a strong taproot and well developed lateral roots.

The alternate, pinnate leaves are 20-40 cm long, with 20-31 medium to dark green leaflets about 3-8 cm long. The terminal leaflet is often missing. The petioles are short. Very young leaves are reddish to purplish in colour. The shape of mature leaflets is more or less asymmetric and their margins are dentate with the exception of the base of their basiscopal half, which is normally very strongly reduced and cuneate. A pinnate fern frond (Blechnum appendiculatum). ... A petiole (also called a pedicel) is the first abdominal segment of members of the Apocrita. ...

The flowers (white and fragrant) are arranged axillary, normally more-or-less drooping panicles which are up to 25 cm long. The inflorescences, which branch up to the third degree, bear 150-250 flowers. An individual flower is 5-6 mm long and 8-11 mm wide. Protandric and bisexual flowers and male flowers exist on the same individual (polygamous). Wildflowers A flower is the reproductive organ of those plants classified as angiosperms (flowering plants; Division Magnoliophyta). ... White-fruited Rowan (Sorbus glabrescens) corymb; note the branched structure A panicle is a compound raceme; a branched, indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers (and fruit) attached along the secondary branches (in another words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes). ... An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers on a branch of a plant. ... Protantrism exists across many phyla of living organisms. ...

The glabrous fruits are olive-like drupes which vary in shape from elongate oval to nearly roundish, and when ripe are 1.4-2.8 x 1.0-1.5 cm. The fruit skin (exocarp) is thin and the bitter-sweet pulp (mesocarp) is yellowish-white and very fibrous. The mesocarp is 0.3-0.5 cm thick. The white, hard inner shell (endocarp) of the fruit encloses one, rarely two or three, elongated seeds (kernels) having a brown seed coat. Fruit stall in Barcelona, Spain. ... The peach is a typical drupe (stone fruit) In botany, a drupe is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp or skin and mesocarp or flesh) surrounds a shell (the pit or stone) of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. ... A SeeD is a term given to mercenaries trained and employed by Balamb Garden in the Final Fantasy VIII video game. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Ecology

The neem tree is noted for its drought resistance. Normally it thrives in areas with sub-arid to sub-humid conditions, with an annual rainfall between 400 and 1200 mm. It can grow in regions with an annual rainfall below 400 mm, but in such cases it depends largely on the ground water levels. Neem can grow in many different types of soil, but it thrives best on well drained deep and sandy soils (pH 6.2-7.0). It is a typical tropical/subtropical tree and exists at annual mean temperatures between 21-32 °C. It can tolerate high to very high temperatures. It does not tolerate temperature below 4 °C (leaf shedding and death may ensue). For the heavy metal band see Soil (band) Soil is the layer of minerals and organic matter, in thickness from centimetres to a metre or more, on the land surface. ...

Cultivation & uses

Neem has been introduced into cultivation over wide areas of Asia, Africa, the Americas, Australia and the islands of the south Pacific. It is present mainly in the drier (arid) tropical and subtropical zones. Mountainous areas are generally avoided. World map showing location of Asia A satellite composite image of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ... Africa is the largest of the three great southward projections from the main mass of the Earths surface. ... The Americas (sometimes referred to as America) is the area including the land mass located between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, generally divided into North America and South America. ... For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation). ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... Subtropical (or semitropical) areas are those adjacent to the tropics, usually roughly defined as the ranges 23. ...

The beneficial properties of the neem tree have been part of Indian folklore for thousands of years. Dubbed 'the village pharmacy', it has numerous medicinal properties, aiding conditions ranging from digestive disorders to diabetes and from high cholesterol to cancer. For many of the medicinal properties mentioned, no scientific data exists, but the fame is based on traditional knowledge (Ayurvedic medicine) or anecdotal stories. All parts of the tree (seeds, leaves, flowers and bark) are used for preparing many different medical preparation and neem oil is also used for preparing cosmetics (soap, shampoo, balms and creams) Besides its use in traditional Indian medicine the Neem tree is of great importance for its anti-desertification properties and possibly as a good carbon dioxide sink. This article is about the disease that features high blood sugar. ... Cholesterol is a steroid lipid, found in the cell membranes of all body tissues, and transported in the blood plasma of all animals. ... When normal cells are damaged or old they undergo apoptosis; cancer cells, however, avoid apoptosis. ... Ayurveda (आयुर्वेद Sanskrit: ayu—life; veda—knowledge of) or ayurvedic medicine is a more than 2,000 year old comprehensive system of medicine based on a holistic approach rooted in Vedic culture. ... Neem oil is a vegetable oil pressed from the seeds of Azadirachta indica, an evergreen tree which is endemic to the Indo-Pakistan sub-continent and has been introduced to many other areas in the tropics. ... Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ...

Of primary interest to research scientists is its activity as an insecticide. Many of the tree's secondary metabolites have biological activity, but azadirachtin is considered to be of the most ecological importance. Studies have shown a wide spectrum of activity and species affected. It acts by breaking the insect's lifecycle. Research has increased in the past few years as the desire for safe pest control methods increases and it becomes apparent that this tree will be able to play a role in integrated pest management systems. Insecticide application by crop spraying An insecticide is a pesticide whose purpose is to kill or to prevent the multiplication of insects. ... Secondary metabolites, also known as natural products, are those products (chemical compounds) of metabolism that are not essential for normal growth, development or reproduction of an organism. ... Azadirachtin A is a chemical compound belonging to the limonoids. ... Orders Subclass Apterygota Symphypleona - globular springtails Subclass Archaeognatha (jumping bristletails) Subclass Dicondylia Monura - extinct Thysanura (common bristletails) Subclass Pterygota Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Blattodea (cockroaches) Mantodea (mantids) Isoptera (termites) Zoraptera Grylloblattodea Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets...

Neem is deemed very effective in the treatment of scabies although only preliminary scientific proof exists which still has to be corroborated, and is recommended for those who are sensitive to permethrin, a known insecticide which might be irritant. Also, the scabies mite has yet to become resistant to neem, so in persistent cases neem has been shown to be very effective. There is also anecdotal evidence of its effectiveness in treating infestations of head lice in humans. Permethrin is a common chemical, widely used as an insecticide. ... Insecticide application by crop spraying An insecticide is a pesticide whose purpose is to kill or to prevent the multiplication of insects. ... The head louse Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) are one of the many varieties of sucking lice (singular louse) specialized to live on different areas of various animals. ...

Patent Controversy

In 1995 the European Patent Office (EPO) granted a patent on an anti-fungal product, derived from neem, to the US Department of Agriculture and multinational WR Grace. The Indian government challenged the patent when it was granted, claiming that the process for which the patent had been granted had actually been in use in India for over 2000 years. In 2000 the EPO ruled in India's favour but the US multinational mounted an appeal claiming that prior existing knowledge about the product was not published in a journal. On March 8th, 2005, that appeal was lost and the EPO revoked the Neem patent rights keeping the tree free of any patent restrictions. The European Patent Organisation (EPO or EPOrg in order to distinguish it from the European Patent Office, which is the main organ of the organisation) is an international organisation set up by the European Patent Convention. ... US,Us or us may stand for the United States of America us, the oblique case form of the English language pronoun we. ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ...

References:

• Gahukar, R. T. (1995) Neem in plant protection. Nagpur, India, Agri-Horticultural Publishing House. vii + 165 pp. ISBN 81-900392-0-2
• Boa, E. R. (1995) A guide to the identification of diseases and pests of neem (Azadirachta indica). Bangkok, Thailand, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAPA). 71 pp.
• Schmutterer, H. (Editor) (1995) The neem tree Azadirachta indica (A. Juss.)and other meliaceous plants: sources of unique natural products for integrated pest management, medicine, industry and other purposes. Weinheim, Germany, VCH Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. xxiii + 696 pp. ISBN 3-527-30054-6
• Tewari, D. N. (1992) Monograph on neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.). Dehra Dun, India, International Book Distributors. vi + 279 pp. ISBN 81-7089-1752
• Vietmeyer, N. D. (Director) (1992) Neem: a tree for solving global problems. Report of an ad hoc panel of the Board on Science and Technology for International Development, National Research Council. Washington, DC, USA, National Academy Press. ix + 141 pp. ISBN 0-309-04686-6
• Jacobson, M. (Editor) (1989) The neem tree. Boca Raton, Florida, USA, CRC Press, Inc. 178 pp.

External links

• http://www.neemfoundation.org
• http://www.fao.org/forestry/FOR/FORM/FOGENRES/Inn/neem.stm
• platformagenttechnologie  (http://www.platformgentechnologie.nl/patents/euro_pat_office/parents/neem_final_backgrounder_nl.shtml/)
• http://www.ayur-neem.com
• India wins landmark patent battle (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4333627.stm)