[Alisdair]

An Indian friend of mine in the UK's West Midlands, who imports exotic spices, found that a spray of diluted neem oil freed his lilies of lily beetle - an absolute scourge here, particularly in urban areas such as his. He kindly gave me a bottle of the oil, though out here in the country I manage to keep the lily beetle at bay by hand-picked destruction.

[Hilary]

Melia azedarach
Decorated with snow.
In the site of Ancient Corinth and near the carpark

[Hilary]

Melia azedarach,
Pride of India, Pride of China, Persian Lilac, Bead Tree and the list goes on.
No stamp today but continuing with the Easter / Spring theme.

Several of these trees grow around Corinth and Ancient Corinth.

The first time I saw this tree was at Easter 1966, when I experienced my first Greek Easter Day feast. The tree was growing in the garden where the lamb was being cooked on the spit, hand turned none of your little motors to turn the spit then.  I was told the tree was called Paskalia. Since then I have noticed that just about anything pale purple in colour goes by the name of Paskalia

Here are a couple of photos taken last May. We had trouble finding enough wild flowers, they had all dried up,  to make our May Wreath so we were glad to come across a bushy Indian Bead tree next to the, now defunct, railway lines.
In the end most of the wreath  was made with the flowers

Melia azedarach is mentioned many times in THE MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN Issue number 25, July 2001 mentions that a Melia tree was lost after the very dry winter of 1999- 2000. I wonder if it has been replaced?
THE GARDEN AT SPAROZA by Caroline Harbouri

[Charithea]

Hilary, I know that there has been a lot of information posted about this tree but I feel that I must also add mine.  I love the tree, its blue-purple flowers , its scent, the visiting bees on its flowers and also that the Golden orioles perch on it, very early in the morning, when they arrive in Cyprus. Friends and relatives ask me why do I tolerate its seeds. Simple.  I don't mind it being untidy.  I get so much pleasure from all the other positive things about it.

[Fermi]

White Cedar also occurs naturally in northern Australia: https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2008/melia-azedarach.html
but can become a weed outside its usual range. It's used quite a lot as a street tree and in gardens in Melbourne and other parts of southern Australia
cheers
fermi

[John J]

Hilary,
I'm a little late on this one, been away and still trying to catch up. Here in Cyprus the Melia is known as 'mavromata' (dark eyes), 'paskalia' is given mainly to the lilac as it flowers around Easter.

[Hilary]

Fermi,
What a wonderful site for information about Australian plants.
What a shame I don't have any more Australian stamps with floral themes.
As a child I did have a 12 inch ruler, each inch a piece of wood from a different Australian tree.
I knew all the names of the trees  off by heart.