Moringa Pterygosperma

Botanical Name: Moringa Pterygosperma Gaertn.

Synonym: Moringa oleifera Lam.

Family: Moringaceae

Common Name: Muringa

English Name: Ben oil tree, drumstick trees.

Description: Tree, 5-10 m high, trunk brittle, root with taste and odour of horseraddish. Leaves deciduous, alternate, 30-60cm long, compound 3-pinnate, leaflets opposite, numerous, short-petiolate, 1-2.5 cm x 0.6-1.5 cm, variable in shape; inflorescence a panicle, axillary, flowers fragrant numerous, petals white,14-18 mm x 6-8 mm; fruit a linear capsule, triquetrous, 20- 45 cm long, 2 cm thick, usually pendulous tan; seeds globular 10 mm in diameter usually winged.

Flowering & Fruiting: November-March

Distribution: E. Asia - Indian subcontinent. Cultivated throughout India

IUCN: unknown: Least Concern. Moringa oleifera (Drumstick Tree) (iucnredlist.org)

District: All District

Uses: Young leaves and shoots - raw or cooked, added to salads, cooked as a potherb and added to soups and curries. It is a nutritious, diuretic, laxative herb that is expectorant, increases milk flow, controls bacterial infections and is rubefacient when applied topically. Flowers and immature fruits are said to be a good rubefacient. A decoction of the flowers is used as a cold remedy.

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