Taxon: Moringa oleifera Lam.

Common names:

• ben-oil-tree   (Source: Zander ed16 ) – English
  
• benzolive-tree   (Source: Handb Nuts ) – English
  
• drumsticktree   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – English
  
• horseradish-tree   (Source: Food Feed Crops US ) – English
  
• moringa   (Source: Handb Nuts ) – English
  
• West Indian ben   (Source: Pl Res SEAs 8:213.) – English
  
• ben ailée   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – French
  
• moringa ailée   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – French
  
• mouroungue   (Source: PROTABASE ) – French
  
• néverdié   (Source: PROTABASE ) – French
  
• pois quénique   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – French
  
• Meerrettichbaum   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – German
  
• murungai   (Source: Wealth India RM ) – India (Tamil)
  
• marunga   (Source: Pl Res SEAs 8:213.) – Indonesian (Timor)
  
• meringgai   (Source: Pl Res SEAs 8:213.) – Malay
  
• moringueiro   (Source: PROTABASE ) – Portuguese
  
• muringueiro   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – Portuguese
  
• quiabo-da-quina   (Source: D. Groth, p.c. 2005) – Portuguese (Brazil)
  
• maranga   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – Spanish
  
• paraíso   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – Spanish
  
• paraíso blanco   (Source: Dict Rehm ) – Spanish
  
• mlonge   (Source: PROTABASE ) – Swahili
  
• mronge   (Source: PROTABASE ) – Swahili
  
• mzunze   (Source: PROTABASE ) – Swahili
  
• pepparrotsträd   (Source: Vara kulturvaxt namn ) – Swedish
  
• marum   (Source: Pl Res SEAs 8:213.) – Thai
  

More:

see MMPND for additional names in foreign scripts

Economic importance:

• Environmental: boundary/barrier/support   (fide Pl Res SEAs 8:213. 1993)
  
• Environmental: ornamental   (fide Pl Res SEAs 8:213. 1993)
  
• Environmental: shade/shelter   (fide Pl Res SEAs 8:213. 1993)
  
• Human food: beverage base   (fide Pl Res SEAs 8:213. 1993)
  
• Human food: fruit   (fide Pl Res SEAs 8:213. 1993)
  
• Human food: oil/fat   (fide Pl Res SEAs 8:213. 1993)
  
• Human food: seeds   (fide Pl Res SEAs 8:213. 1993)
  
• Human food: vegetable   (fide Pl Res SEAs 8:213. 1993)
  
• Fuels: potential as petroleum substitute/alcohol   (fide Rashid, U. Bioresource Technology 99:8175-8179.)
  
• Materials: fiber   (for wood pulp and cellulose fide Verdcourt, Kew Bull 40:9. 1985)
  
• Materials: gum/resin   (gum used in tanning & fabric printing fide PROTABASE)
  
• Materials: lipids   (fide Handb Nuts)
  
• Medicines: folklore   (fide CRC MedHerbs ed2; Herbs Commerce ed2; PROTABASE)
  

More:

View phytochemical or ethnobotanical data from Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases

Distributional range:

• ASIA-TROPICAL
  Indian Subcontinent: India [n.]; Pakistan [perhaps only cult.]

• also cultivated

References:

• PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
• Aldén, B., S. Ryman & M. Hjertson. 2009. Våra kulturväxters namn - ursprung och användning. Formas, Stockholm (Handbook on Swedish cultivated and utility plants, their names and origin).
• Boutelje, J. B. 1980. Encyclopedia of world timbers, names and technical literature.
• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1962. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials. Delhi. 6:426–429.
• Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs.
• Duke, J. A. 1989. Handbook of Nuts. CRC Press.
• Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage.
• Erhardt, W. et al. 2000. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 16. Auflage.
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
• Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. [re. Brazilian common names].
• Howard, R. 1974–1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
• Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. [= M. pterygosperma Gaertn.].
• Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2.
• McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2.
• Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970–. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
• Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
• Rashid, U. et al. 2008. Moringa oleifera oil: a possible source of biodiesel. Bioresource Technol. 99:8175–8179. [re. potential use as fuel substitute].
• Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants.
• Siemonsma, J. S. & Kasem Piluek, eds. 1993. Vegetables. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). 8:213–215.
• Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948–. Flora malesiana.
• Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952–. Flora of tropical East Africa. [cult.].
• Verdcourt, B. 1985. A synopsis of the Moringaceae. Kew Bull. 40:7–12.

More:

Search AGRICOLA article citation database for citations referencing Moringa oleifera.

Search NCBI's Entrez search engine for PubMed citations referencing Moringa oleifera.

Search Biodiversity Heritage Library for historical publications referencing Moringa oleifera.

Synonyms:

• (=) Guilandina moringa L.
  
• (=) "Moringa moringa (L.) Millsp., nom. inval."
  
• (≡) Moringa pterygosperma Gaertn.
  (previously associated with 8 accessions)

Check other web resources for Moringa oleifera Lam.:

• Mansfeld: Mansfeld's World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops
• PROTABASE: Plant Resources of Tropical Africa's (PROTA's) online resource
• ePIC: Electronic Plant Information Centre of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
• AGRICOLA: Article Citation Database or NAL Catalog of USDA's National Agricultural Library
• Entrez: NCBI's search engine for PubMed citations, GenBank sequences, etc.

Images:

• Embryo drawing: U.S. National Seed Herbarium drawing
• Seed: U.S. National Seed Herbarium image

More:

• Check PlantSystematics.org for additional images
• Images Note: Be advised that their identity may be inaccurate. Proper identification of a plant may require specialized taxonomic knowledge or comparison with properly documented herbarium material.

Abbreviations & symbols in GRIN Taxonomy

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