Botanical Name:-Azadirachta indica A.Juss
Common Name:– Neem
Classification:-
Kingdom – Plantae
Division – Magnoliophyta
Class – Magnoliopsida
Order – Sapindales
Family – Meliaceae
Genus – Azadirachta
Species – A. Indica
Characteristics Of Meliaceae Family:-
Plants are mostly woody trees, leaves are pinnately compound ,exstipulate , leaflets are asymmetrical, margin of leaf is serrate, inflorescence is cymose , flowers is actinomorphic , hermaphrodite, calyx and corolla sometimes united,corolla, sometimes quincuncia ,stamens 8 to 10, monadelphous, annular necticiferous disc is present between petals and stamens, gynoecium is pentacarpellary, syncarpous, superior, fewer or multilocular with 1-2or more ovules in each locule , single style.
Habitat :-. It is typically is grown in tropical and semi-tropical regions and Common in plains from the coast to 900m.
Distribution:- Azadirachta indica is native to India and the Indian subcontinent . It also include Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, trees now also grown in islands located in the southern part of Iran.
Status:- Least Concern
Plant Description:-
Evergreen trees, hight upto 20 m , bark greyish-brown, vertically striated exudation – red and sticky.
Leaves are imparipinnate, alternate, estipulate , slender, swollen at base, glabrous. Leaflets are opposite or subopposite, slender, glabrous , base oblique, apex acuminate, margin serrate, glabrous, coriaceous, pinnate, slender, prominent, intercostae reticulate.
Flowers bisexual, white, in axillary panicles; bracteoles scaly; pedicel 5 mm; sepals 5, connate at base, ovate, margin ciliate; petals 5, free, white, oblong-obovate.
Uses Of Plants:-
Used as Toothbrush Traditionally ,slender of neem twigs (called daatun) are first chewed as a toothbrush and then split as a tongue cleaner.
Neem oil is used for preparing cosmetics such as soap, shampoo, balms, and creams and toothpaste.
Used as fertilizer and has demonstrated potential as a fertilizer. Neem cake is used as fertilize in sugarcane crop.
All parts of Neem tree used as antihelmintic.
It is also anti-fungal, anti- diabetic.
It is antibacterial, antiviral and used as sedative.