Back in the early to mid 70s, when I was an avid vegetable gardener-chef, I heard about a tree called the neem tree, which sounded like a miracle plant to me. A little background research was revealing: it was native to India and Pakistan, was very drought resistant, and useful in myriad ways.
Its root system was great for anchoring loose soils (the U.N. had a program in the Sahara using neem trees to reclaim desert sands), the leaves increased soil fertility, while the seed cake was great as a cattle and poultry feed.
The twigs are used by millions as a natural toothbrush, and because of high oil content, the fast-growing wood resists termites and rot, and is used for all kinds of construction, including houses, fence posts, boats, piers, docks, etc. Book repositories made of neem wood preserve paper for millennia.
The oil makes an effective industrial lubricant and lamp oil. Bitter tender leaf shoots are eaten all over southeast Asia and the subcontinent (excellent in Thailand with chilled raw oysters and green chile sauce, or with fried fish and sweet sauce).
We know about its effectiveness as an insecticide, working systemically as well as on a contact basis. It’s one of the few products that discourages feeding on a crop (many pesticides have to be consumed before they are effective).  It works as an enstar inhibitor, and as a digestive tract blocker, and has been tested as efficacious on more than 200 different insects.  (Most nurseries stock neem oil for use in the garden.)
Due to its antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral properties neem oil has been used in Ayurvedic holistic medicine for thousands of years. (Ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional alternative medicine used in the Indian subcontinent.)
Neem kills internal parasites in humans and animals, and is a very effective spermicide.  It’s also used for the treatment of ulcers, burns, leprosy and skin lesions, and for internal ulcers and digestive problems in the stomach.
It is used to beautify hair, skin and nails. Villages planted them to reduce mosquitoes and ants in the area. The list is almost endless, so much so that it is called “the village pharmacy” in India and “the miracle tree” in Muslim countries, and it does all of this while being completely non-toxic to humans.
New research indicates it is effective as an immune-booster, a liver-protector, a possible diabetes treatment and a rich source of antioxidants when used as a dietary supplement. It is being tested in anti-aging compounds and treatments for dry, itchy skin. Western researchers are just starting to scratch the surface to discover what the subcontinent has known for thousands of years.
Jim Hightower, the Texas Agriculture Commissioner before Rick Perry succeeded him and took credit for all of Jim’s progressive programs, was a regular at the restaurant where I was a chef.  I talked neem up to Jim when he came in, and Jim got me some seeds from the USDA Research Station down in Florida, where they were conducting trials.
My theory was that if chinaberry (Melia azaderach) was a first cousin of neem (Azidirachta indica), and chinaberry grows like a weed here, there were two things to consider.
1. Does chinaberry contain enough azadirachtin in its seeds to be useful? (dunno; I’ve never been able to get any eggheads interested in finding out) or, 2. Would neem prosper down in the Valley, ensuring a local Texas source for oil extraction? (turns out that it doesn’t appreciate temperatures much below 36°F).
The neem tree is nothing short of a miracle plant, providing so many benefits they are almost too numerous to list and I’ve only scratched the surface in extolling its virtues. I would so love to be able to grow neem trees here, but I think it gets too cold in the winter. Still, if you were really dedicated, you could probably pull it off.  And maybe after we globally-warm a little more, the neem will become an adapted plant. Texas’s new miracle tree!

Mick Vann is a horticulturist, food writer and blogger, chef, restaurant consultant. Read Mick’s blog at gustidude.blogspot.com. Contact Mick at mick@austin.utexas.edu