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Chinaberry
A fast weedy invasive tree with fragrant lilac flowers and highly toxic yellow berries that can be fatal to children and animals. Never plant it; this entry is for identifying and controlling it.
Safety notes Chinaberry is dangerously toxic and must never be eaten. Its yellow berries are the worst hazard - a handful can be fatal to a child, and they poison dogs, livestock, and other animals, causing vomiting, weakness, and seizures; the leaves and bark are toxic too. Keep berries well away from children and pets, do not let animals graze fallen fruit, and wear gloves when handling it. Beyond the poison, it is a fast-reseeding invasive that crowds out natives, so do not plant it.
Overview
Chinaberry (Melia azedarach) is a fast-growing, weedy invasive tree, once planted across the South as a shade tree for its lacy foliage and fragrant spring 'lilac' flowers, now spread widely along fencerows, edges, roadsides, and old home sites. It's a plant to recognize and control, never to plant - and it carries an added danger beyond invasiveness: its yellow berries are highly toxic, poisonous enough that a handful can be fatal to a child, and they poison dogs, livestock, and other animals as well.
As an invasive, it's a classic fast colonizer: it grows quickly, reseeds heavily (birds spread the toxic fruit), and resprouts and root-sprouts vigorously when cut, so it's persistent and hard to remove. Its lacy leaves, fragrant flowers, and even the hard berries (once strung as beads, hence 'bead tree' - a historical craft, not one to repeat with a child) gave it a nostalgic charm in old Southern yards - but between the invasion and the serious poisoning hazard, it's firmly a 'do not plant' tree. This entry is here to help you identify and control chinaberry safely, and to steer you to native trees instead.
Quick facts
For identification. Not a growing guide.
- Height
- 30 ftRange: 20–50 ft
- Spread
- 25 ftRange: 15–40 ft
- Cold
- Takes hard frostdamaged below 0°F
- Heat
- Struggles above 108°F
- Life cycle
- Perennial, lives about 30 years
- Self-sows
- Yes. Never let it set seed.
- Habitat
- Full sun · Part sun, well-drained soil
Through the year
A field guide through time
Explore the stages to recognize this plant throughout its life.
Stage 1 of 3 · The recurring year
Fast leafy growth (identify & control)
Apr to Oct, every year
Know this stage
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Recognize it: large lacy compound leaves, umbrella crown
Chinaberry is a fast-growing tree with a spreading, often umbrella-like crown and very large, lacy, twice- or thrice-divided (bi- to tripinnate) compound leaves made of many toothed leaflets - a distinctive fern-like, tropical look. The bark is dark and furrowed on older trees. A fast tree with big lacy compound leaves and a broad umbrella crown along a fence line or old yard is likely chinaberry.
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Pull seedlings, cut-stump-treat larger trees (wear gloves)
Hand-pull or dig seedlings and saplings when soil is moist, getting the roots. For larger trees, cut and immediately treat the stump with herbicide (cut-stump), or use basal-bark treatment - cutting alone triggers vigorous resprouting and root sprouts. Wear gloves (the plant is toxic), and remove trees before the berries form so they can't reseed or poison animals.
Months are typical seasonal windows; climate, variety, and plant age can shift them.
Hazards
Bird-Spread Seed & ResproutingSeverity High DisordernowSeason: Sep–AprSeedlings far from any planting, and multiple sprouts after a tree is cut.
Seedlings far from any planting, and multiple sprouts after a tree is cut.
Cut-stump/basal-bark to kill roots, remove seed sources, and persist against seedlings and sprouts for several seasons.
Remove fruiting trees to cut off the seed; kill roots rather than just cutting; don't dump berry-laden debris.
Why it spreads and resists control: birds eat and scatter the abundant (toxic) berries, seeds germinate readily and the tree fruits young, and cut trees resprout from the stump and send up root sprouts.
Toxic Berries (poisoning hazard)Severity High DisordernowSeason: Sep–FebChildren, pets, or livestock near the yellow berries or fallen fruit; the berries persist on bare branches all winter within easy reach.
Children, pets, or livestock near the yellow berries or fallen fruit; the berries persist on bare branches all winter within easy reach.
For any ingestion, contact poison control or a veterinarian immediately; remove the tree to eliminate the ongoing hazard.
Remove fruiting trees; keep berries away from children and pets; don't let animals graze fallen fruit; clear dropped berries.
A serious direct hazard to people and animals: chinaberry's yellow berries are highly toxic - a handful can be fatal to a child, and they poison dogs, livestock, and other animals, causing vomiting, weakness, seizures, and death; the leaves and bark are toxic too.
Edge & Streambank Colonization (ecological harm)Severity High DisordernowSeason: Apr–OctFast mimosa seedlings and stands with feathery foliage colonizing sunny disturbed edges and streambanks, spreading outward from parent trees.
Fast mimosa seedlings and stands with feathery foliage colonizing sunny disturbed edges and streambanks, spreading outward from parent trees.
Cut-stump or basal-bark herbicide on larger trees (they resprout if only cut), pull seedlings, and follow up for years against the seed bank.
Never plant it; remove flowering and pod-bearing trees before they seed; clear seedlings early.
The core hazard is ecological: mimosa forms fast, dense stands along roadsides, forest edges, fencerows, and especially streambanks and floodplains, crowding out native grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, and tree seedlings and converting diverse habitat into low-value thickets.
Grower tips
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