Moringa

Updated on Feb 01, 2024

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Kingdom Plantae Family Moringaceae Martinov		Order Brassicales Genus Moringa Adans.

Moringa, native to parts of Africa and Asia, is the sole genus in the flowering plant family Moringaceae. The name is derived from murungai/munakkai/muringa, the Tamil/Telugu/Malayalam word for drumstick. It contains 13 species from tropical and subtropical climates that range in size from tiny herbs to massive trees.

The most widely cultivated species is Moringa oleifera, a multipurpose tree native to the foothills of the Himalayas in northwestern India and cultivated throughout the tropics. M. stenopetala, an African species, is also widely grown, but to a much lesser extent than M. oleifera.

Moringa species grow quickly in many types of environments.

List of species

Moringa arborea Verdc. (indigenous to Kenya)

Moringa borziana Mattei (indigenous to Somalia)

Moringa concanensis Nimmo (indigenous to northern India)

Moringa drouhardii Jum. – bottle tree (indigenous to southwestern Madagascar)

Moringa hildebrandtii Engl. – Hildebrandt's moringa (indigenous to southwestern Madagascar)

Moringa longituba Engl. (indigenous to Ethiopia and Somalia)

Moringa oleifera Lam. (syn. M. pterygosperma) – horseradish tree (indigenous to northwestern India)

Moringa ovalifolia Dinter & Berger (indigenous to Namibia and Angola)

Moringa peregrina (Forssk.) Fiori indigenous to Horn of Africa and in the Southern Sinai, Egypt

Moringa pygmaea Verdc. (indigenous to Somalia)

Moringa rivae Chiov. (indigenous to Kenya and Ethiopia)

Moringa ruspoliana Engl. (indigenous to Ethiopia)

Moringa stenopetala (Baker f.) Cufod. (indigenous to Kenya and Ethiopia)

References

Moringa Wikipedia

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