Japanese name: センダン（栴檀） Scientific name:Melia azedarach
[Overview]
A deciduous tree 7–10 m tall, growing in forests near the coast.
It spreads its branches widely.
Young branches are green and at first densely covered with stellate hairs.
The leaves are alternate, clustered at the branch tips, and 2–3 times odd-pinnately compound.
The leaflets are ovate to ovate-oblong, 3–6 cm long and 1–2.5 cm wide, abruptly pointed at the tip, with coarse teeth on the margin.
The base of each leaflet is asymmetrical.
Compound cymes 8–13 cm long arise from the leaf axils and bear many flowers.
The flowers are pale purple with 5 petals, about 2 cm across.
There are 10 stamens, fused into a tube.
The fruit is elliptical, 1.5–2 cm long, and ripens to pale yellow.
[Uses]
The wood is used as a substitute for Kiri and Keyaki, for geta (wooden clogs), musical instruments, furniture and so on.
The bark and fruit are used medicinally.
[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained site.
It is easy to grow, but as it is a plant of warm regions it is not suited to cold areas.
[Notes]
The "Sendan" in the proverb "Sendan wa futaba yori kanbashi" refers to Byakudan.
