Economic Botany Collection

Catalogue no.:

45717

Botanical classification:

MELIACEAE Melia azedarach

Common name:

Syringa, persian lilac, China berry, bead tree

Geographical description:

South Africa

Item description:

Necklace of seeds

Length:

86cm

No. of beads:

58

Bead size:

1cm

Additional information:

Notes accompanying object: 'Necklace as sold through WWF catalogue 1996. The seeds of the tree are gathered by schoolchildren in their spare time, to help supplement the family income. The seeds are boiled for 3 hours, scrubbed to remove the flesh, then sundried for a week. They are reboiled in a good quality commercial dye with acetic acid and then sun died for a further 3 days before being threaded into various jewellery items.'

Plant information:

An invasive, small to medium sized shrub or tree, growing 6-8 metres in 4 or 5 years, native to South Asia. The fruits are poisonous to humans and some mammals.

Donor date:

00/09/1996

Donor:

WWF - The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) aims to ‘conserve the natural environment and ecological processes worldwide’. The WWF was formed in 1961 and works for the conservation of nature and ecological processes using: campaigns to ‘highlight and demonstrate solutions to crucial environmental problems’, ground-level action and policy introduction through advocacy work.