Moringa oleifera
Species of flowering tree
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Key Takeaways
- Moringa oleifera is a short-lived, fast-growing, drought-resistant tree of the family Moringaceae, native to northern India and used extensively in South and Southeast Asia.
- It is widely cultivated for its young seed pods and leaves, used as vegetables and for traditional herbal medicine.
- oleifera is a fast-growing, deciduous tree that can reach a height of 10–12 m (33–39 ft) and trunk diameter of 46 cm (18 in).
- Young shoots have purplish or greenish-white, hairy bark.
- The flowers are fragrant and hermaphroditic, surrounded by five unequal, thinly veined, yellowish-white petals.
Moringa oleifera is a short-lived, fast-growing, drought-resistant tree of the family Moringaceae, native to northern India and used extensively in South and Southeast Asia. Common names include moringa, drumstick tree (from the long, slender, triangular seed-pods), horseradish tree (from the taste of the roots, which resembles horseradish), or malunggay (as known in maritime or archipelagic areas in Asia).
It is widely cultivated for its young seed pods and leaves, used as vegetables and for traditional herbal medicine. It is also used for water purification.
Description
M. oleifera is a fast-growing, deciduous tree that can reach a height of 10–12 m (33–39 ft) and trunk diameter of 46 cm (18 in). The bark has a whitish-gray color and is surrounded by thick cork. Young shoots have purplish or greenish-white, hairy bark. The tree has an open crown of drooping, fragile branches, and the leaves build up a feathery foliage of tripinnate leaves.
The flowers are fragrant and hermaphroditic, surrounded by five unequal, thinly veined, yellowish-white petals. The flowers are about 1–1.5 cm (3⁄8–5⁄8 in) long and 2 cm (3⁄4 in) broad. They grow on slender, hairy stalks in spreading or drooping flower clusters, which have a length of 10–25 cm (4–10 in).
Flowering begins within the first six months of planting. In seasonally cool regions, flowering only occurs once a year in late spring and early summer (Northern Hemisphere between April and June, Southern Hemisphere between October and December). In more constant seasonal temperatures and with constant rainfall, flowering can happen twice or even all year-round.
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