Species Overview

Native to: India, China, and the Himalayas

Chinaberry was brought to the U.S. in the late 1700’s by a French botanist. It has been used over the years as an ornamental plant, shade tree, and fuel wood. There are also some medicinal applications for Chinaberry including a peptide isolated from leaf tissue that is effective against the herpes simplex virus. Despite the medicinal properties, it is also an allergen, and its fruit is toxic. Chinaberry has all the qualities of a successful weed. This plant is adaptable to many environmental conditions, is virtually disease and insect free, and thrives in disturbed or open areas. Its non-native distribution is not limited to the United States (from Virginia to Florida and westward to Texas) as it is also common in Central America, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

Species Characteristics

Family: Meliaceae

Habit: deciduous tree with purplish, reddish bark, grows up to 50 ft.

Leaves: alternate and 2 to 3 times compound (8 to 18 inches). Leaflets have serrated edges and are 1 to 3 inches long.

Flowers: long, fragrant, lilac-like flowers are produced in leaf axils.

Fruit/Seeds: Yellow to yellow-green round drupes are formed after flowering and can persist after leaf drop in the fall. The fruits are mucilaginous and sticky, with hard, round; marble-like seed.

Distribution in Florida: across the state.

Impacts

Birds are effective seed disperses and it reproduces vegetatively - when the tree is cut it produces suckers that form a dense stand of vegetation. Along Florida’s roadsides, in natural areas such as forests and marshes Chinaberry has the ability to grow rapidly and displace the native vegetation. The leaf litter produced by Chinaberry causes the soil to become more alkaline, giving an advantage to species that prefer alkaline soils.

TOXICITY: flowers are a respiratory irritant and the leaves, bark, flowers and fruit are poisonous. Poisoning from fruit ingestion has been reported in people, sheep, cattle, and dogs.

Do no plant.

Controlling Chinaberry is best accomplished when trees are very young, prior to seed production, because the seed is very hard, it may remain dormant in the soil for several months or years. Therefore, be persistent and visit a clean site several times before declaring it “Chinaberry-free”. Chinaberry generally invades open or disturbed areas – following a burn, clearing mowing, etc., areas may be particularly vulnerable to invasion. Healthy ecosystems with good species diversity will help to deter infestation. Seeds may be hand-picked from trees and discarded properly, however this may not be a realistic or cost-effective tactic for larger infestations. It is thought that Chinaberry may be susceptible to fire, but more research must be done to validate this claim.

Limited to cutting, although mowing prevents seedling establishment in pasture and rangeland settings. Cutting back Chinaberry must be integrated with chemical control because of its proclivity to resprout.

None known.

Cut stump: 10% Method, 50% Garlon 3A. Basal bark: 10% Method, 15–30% Garlon 4. Addition of 3% Stalker to Garlon 4 may increase consistency. Foliar: 0.25% Method. Herbicides should be applied before the onset of fruit production to prevent seed production. Repeat applications may also be necessary for complete control. Reach out to your local UF IFAS Extension for further assistance with management recommendations. Additional management recommendations can be found in the EDIS Publication Integrated Management of Non-Native Plants in Natural Areas of Florida.