Morinda citrifolia L.

Taxonomy: Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Gentianales > Rubiaceae > Morinda > M. citrifolia

Description: Evergreen shrubs or small crooked trees, 3-8 m high; bark greyish or yellowish- brown, shallowly fissured, glabrous; branchlets quandrangular. Leaves simple, opposite, 12-50 x 5-17 cm, elliptic-lanceolate, entire, acute to shortly acuminate to apex, cuneate at base, pinnately nerved, glabrous; petioles 0.5-2.5 cm long; stipules variable in size and shape, broadly triangular. Flowers bisexual, fragrant, in dense globose heads, connate by the calyces, peduncle 1-4 cm long, opposite to normally developed leaves. Calyx tube hemispheric, limb truncate. Corolla funnel-shaped, up to 1.5 cm long, lobes 5 lanceolate, acute. Stamens 5, inserted on the mouth of the corolla; filaments hairy. Ovary 2-celled, ovule solitary; stigma bilobed. Fruit an ovoid syncarp of pyramidal, 2-seeded drupes, 3-10 cm x 2-3 cm, yellow-white; seeds black, with hard albumen and distinct air chamber.

Flowering and Fruiting : Flowers and fruits all year round

Uses : Because of the nutrients the fruit posses, it's used to treat a variety of health problems including, high blood pressure, arthritis, ulcers, depression, sprains, menstrual cramps, pain relief, inflammation, burns, fever, food poisoning, intestinal worms, and joint problems.

Cultivation : Wild , Cultivated

References

http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org

https://indiabiodiversity.org