Syringas
Syringas are my most hated of alien, invasive plants in Durban. They spread like wildfire, grow easily in this climate and are a task to remove. Since coming back to Durban last October I have seen more and more of them, and it seems that many people (myself included) don’t know the details.
A few Google searches revealed that what we erroneously call ‘Syringa’ is in fact Melia azedarach, the ‘Chinaberry’ Tree, which is part of the mahogany family and native to India, southern China and Australia. While some of the facts about the tree sounded familiar; the use of its leaves for medicinal purposes (also in Indian and Zulu communities in KZN) and the fact that its berries are toxic to humans but not to birds (which facilitates the spreading of the plant), I was surprised to find that it is commonly used as timber.
Melia azedarach has a timber of high quality, but is generally underutilised. Apparently, the seasoning of the wood is also relatively simple as it dries without cracking or warping and is resistant to fungal infection. I quickly did the Math. Durban is overrun by these alien and invasive trees that grow to around 12m, which equals a lot of crack-free, water and fungus resistant timber, that could be used as building materials or to make furniture etc. as in the case of Koop.
Surely this could be done at a municipal level too? The eradication of invasive alien trees, the planting of new, indigenous ones, and in the process, skill-sharing, creating awareness about alien plants, and producing resistant and sturdy timber that could be used for building or to create furniture for schools… Seems like a good idea to me. Are there facts that are missing? Is Syringa / Chinaberry as worthwhile as the Internet suggests? What do you think?
Syringa berries
Common Names: Chinaberry, Pride-of-India, Persian Lilac, White Cedar or Bead Tree
Synonymy: M. australis Sweet; M. japonica G. Don; M. sempervirens Sw.
Origin: Asia
Syringa flowers
26 Comments to “Syringas”
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Mulch love. 
Hey Mol-d
My Dad works a lot with wood and has recently turned his hand to making us some shelves. He refuses pointblank to use Syringa as apparently it is well-known for warping.
Roger’s brother and his wife had some very expensive custom made doors made for them out of Syringa and they’ve warped quite severely. Their good friend who works for a well-known door company in South Africa told them they should have consulted with him first because they would never make doors out of Syringa because it warps the way it does…
So who knows…
I think this is a really good, practical idea. Not sure about the warping but perhaps something could be done to counteract that?
Another solution, but more long term, would be to plant strangler figs in the branches of larger, invasive trees and then let them do their work.
great idea smile. garden guerilla warfare. in slow-mo.
i think the koop stuff is made from gum. they had a few peices at the suss’t exhibition at kznsa gallery over christmas and i seem to recall that was the wood.
Hello Sons and Niall!
Great Website + idea>
Chinaberry- sounds like it should be a native Durban plant….
My sister has a nursery in Ramsgate-
Plants not humans.
There are loads of these trees that need to be cut down. A potential use is as a natural insecticide perhaps fungicide. However there are probably less toxic and more effective plants out there. Neem is related to Chinaberry and is used as an insecticide…Sweet neem is the curry leaf-
super healthy and great flavour.
I have used it to kill whitefly in the greenhouse- it works lukka.
The trouble with Chinaberry is that it is so toxic that I would not even want to use it as firewood…
ciao.
Great site okies. Sonya told me about it today, and I’ve really enjoyed checking out the discussions.
I share your hatred of the syringas, but I’m pretty sure that if they could be used practically on a large scale they would be – just like the pine trees and eucalypts.
emme is korrek, the stuff at koop was made from saligna, which is a type of eucalyptus.
I also liked the idea of planting strangler figs on syringas, but you would have to kill the offensive invader first.
I’m not sure if that’s too radical, even for guerrilla gardeners.
i also like the idea of the figs but i fear it would be too slow. we have a strangler fig in our garden that has taken ages to kill the other tree. by the time it kills one syringa, 50 others will have grown.. what to do?
Ja, ja – I got my Syringa confused with my Salinga… sorry guys… and after I enjoyed my little ‘warping’ tirade so much too… ha
kill the invaders!!!
Stranglers rock! If we left the city alone for ten years it’d be one rock-breaking ficus jungle.
hi guys,
this syringa is apparently a toxic tree, however i am looking for its counterpart called ‘Neem’ or Azadirachta indica which has great medicinal properties, can anyone help as to where to find it?
Thanks.
Hi Zain. Hindu priests and sangomas in Durban both make a medicine from the leaves of the syringa. I wonder if Neem isn’t the same tree?
Hi Niall,
Well after enquiring about the syringa the botanists say its toxic and are cutting it down where ever they (parks dept.) find it.
With regards to Neem it does come from the same family of Meliaceae hence the leaves resemble to the syringa a lot!
I just had the botanists identify and isolate the syringa and the Neem, so it is 2 different tree(s).
Know where to find it?
Hi Zain – thanks for that information. I have heard of neem, I know it is used in natural shampoos for clearing up dandruff. I seem to remember the medicinal use of it originated from India, but don’t quote me on that.
Hi Zain.
None of the nurseries in Durban seem to stock Neem. My advice would be to buy some seeds online and germinate the tree yourself.
They are selling Neem seeds on eBay and they seem reasonably priced (http://stores.ebay.com.au/ALL-U-NEED-IS-SEED).
Good luck and let us know if you have any success with them.
Niall
what bird is that in the first photo of the Syringa tree.
hi graham,
i’m not sure – it is a stock photo i got off the net..
Without doing any searches, my first comment on this is that I know Syringa wood is bad to use on a braai fire (possible even poisonous- due to the smoke being in direct contact with the food) but if you are just using it warm yourself up I suppose it has its uses as a fuel wood. As mentioned above it warps too so is no use as a wood for woodworking. Perhaps the wood could have other uses such as construction in gardens, supports or fences etc (Where warping is not as serious a problem) also just be careful that your fences don’t start resprouting!
But try my idea with multiple strangler figs, perhaps it may just work?
Syringas also cannot withstand a chainsaw!
Syringa’ is in fact Melia azedarach,the ‘Chinaberry’ Tree,which is part of the mahogany family and native to India, southern China and Australia.Melia azedarach has a timber of high quality,Also onething is that some of very expensive custom made doors made for them out of Syringa and they’ve warped quite severely.Their good friend who works for a well-known door company in South Africa.they should have consulted with him first because they would never make doors out of Syringa because it warps the way it does.
So what guys? what makes a plant an alien? —– is it only because someone else determined it was? and who has to cut it down and build doors with it anyway…leave it to do the job it’s supposed to do!!!!! offer us oxygen and shade…..
Hey Tree Lover
There is a difference between alien and invasive plants.
Invasive plants are bad because they destroy natural habitat for indigenous plants and animals. Some also take water out of the ground.
1. There’s no description of how the doormakers seasoned, cut, fitted, or protected the wood, but my untreated rails and styles have remained intact for years, in our fluctuating climate.
In California, Chinaberries grow large and fall under their own weight, when one side is shaded. Sawed limbs were cracked inside, probably from considerable stress, more than the drying.
Also, while the centers of the branches appear solid, a thin core of pith is soft and can be removed by fingernail, if it is exposed by the saw.
This morning, I read that Europeans used it for flooring — essentially, smaller pieces fit together by tongue and groove.
2. Chinaberry trees do spread, to be sure, but have not driven native plants to the brink of extinction on uncultivated, lowland soils.
I don’t recall it growing, spontaneously, high into the foothills.
Stray Chinaberries haven’t deprived nearby landscaping, in any noticeable way, and have perhaps even shielded it from the elements.
3. Is it poisonous?
Mature fruit is sweet and said to be eaten by children, animals, birds, and bats, with no ill effects, even after gorging on them.
Green fruits have a nauseating and bitter flavor and have allegedly been used as a fish poison.
There are extravagant (generally hypothetical) warnings of bloody diarrhea, organ failure, and nervous system anomalies in humans. I have never encountered any medical case histories, which clarify what was eaten and how, although common sense tells me ripeness is a factor.
An oil is pressed from the seeds, and only used externally. How poisonous are they, if they may be used on open sores? Articles of leather are protected by the oil and, presumably, touched by hand, as would the beads.
The sap is said to be collected, from the base of the tree, in springtime, for a refreshing drink. Does the season matter?
The bitter leaves are repellent and stunt the development of insects, yet they are supposedly used in curries (with other vegetables.) Does it help that they’re cooked? No special precautions are mentioned for using them as a spray, in which case, exposure would be considerable.
Having followed the leads of others, I barbecued over the wood with no ill effects. I’ve touched the litter four hours, and my clothes have been saturated by the sawdust, causing me no problems at all.
Overall, the tree has proven to be far less dangerous than so many fearmongers, quick to rationalize their needless interference in the lives of their fellow adults.
In the hands of thoughtful people, it is certainly more of a resource than a nuisance,
hi lion, some interesting points. good to have a perspective from outside of south africa. thanks! i was surprised that you say the berries aren’t poisonous as we were always told that they were..
i suppose it could be more of a resource than a nuisance in the right hands..
We have a mature Syringa/Chinaberry at our house in Johannesburg. It is an awesome shade tree but very messy come August/September when it starts dropping those berries.
We have plants and grass growing beneath it. We had to use shade grass, but otherwise it doesn’t seem to have any adverse impact on other plant life.
When our dog was still a small puppy she used to love eating the mostly dry berries. They never seemed to have any adverse affect. The birds also love sitting in the tree.
It blocks the sun in summer, and lets the light through in winter, which reduces energy consumption quite dramatically (no air conditioning and don’t need much heating in Winter). Obviously other trees can do this too, but would take many years to grow to the same size.
I don’t think I would advocate growing one from seed, mainly because of its bad reputation. But I am loathe to cut this one down as it adds so much to our garden.
hi matthew,
i definitely think you should keep this tree in your garden! we have an established syringa as well and have left it. i would definitely pull out any seedlings though… these trees are invasive, adapt easily and grow really quickly!