တမာ

Myanmar Name –  Tama

Common Name – Neem tree, mkilifi, mwarubaini kamili (Kiswahili)

Botanical Name – Azadirachtaindica A.Juss

Family Name – Meliaceae

Habitat –  native to the Indian subcontinent and to parts of Southeast Asia, but is naturalized and grown around the world in tropical and subtropical areas.

Habit – a small to medium-sized tree, usually evergreen, up to 15 (30 max.) m tall, with a round, large crown up to 10 (20 max.) m in diameter; branches spreading; bole branchless for up to 7.5 m, up to 90 cm in diameter, sometimes fluted at base

Bark – bark moderately thick, with small, scattered tubercles, deeply fissured and flaking in old trees, dark grey outside and reddish inside, with colourless, sticky foetid sap.

Leaves – Leaves alternate, crowded near the end of branches, simply pinnate, 20- 40 cm long, exstipulate, light green, with 2 pairs of glands at the base, otherwise glabrous; petiole 2-7 cm long, subglabrous; rachis channelled above; leaflets 8-19, very short petioluled, alternate proximally.

Inflorescence – Inflorescence an axillary, many-flowered thyrsus, up to 30 cm long; bracts minute and caducous.

Flower – flowers bisexual or male on same tree, actinomorphic, small, pentamerous, white or pale yellow, slightly sweet scented; calyx lobes imbricate, broadly ovate and thin, puberulous inside; petals free, imbricate, spathulate, spreading, ciliolate inside.

Fruit – Fruit 1 (max. 2)-seeded drupe, ellipsoidal, 1-2 cm long, greenish, greenishyellow to yellow .

Seed – seed ovoid or spherical; apex pointed; testa thin, composed of a shell and a kernel (sometimes 2 or 3 kernels), each about half of the seed’s weight.

Flowering and Fruiting Time – Flowering and fruiting: February-September

Usage – All parts of the neem tree have been used traditionally for the treatment of inflammation, infections, fever, skin diseases and dental disorders. The medicinal utilities have been described especially for neem leaf.