Moringa oleifera - moringa, miracle tree, drumstick tree

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MikeHardman

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Moringa oleifera - moringa, miracle tree, drumstick tree
« on: August 25, 2018, 09:07:04 PM »
John Joynes posted about this in 2015
- http://www.mgsforum.org/smf/index.php?topic=2140.msg14969
...And he is due to give us an update!...

And I have just stumbled upon it online
- http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180821-are-forgotten-crops-the-future-of-food
That article is not particularly mediterranean, but it includes moringa.

Seems worthy of having a topic of its own.

It seems to have lots of virtues.
Many parts of the plant can be eaten (though there are risks with bark and flowers).
it is very nutritious.
It grows in climates ranging from arid to tropical
it is a fast-growing, drought-resistant tree, with slight frost-hardiness (opinion varies)
So it is possibly growable in a mediterranean climate, and this paper implies it is
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423817304570
Note: it prefers an acid to neutral soil.
It flowers young and can be grown as an annual (so could be self-perpetuating that way).
It can be propagated from seed and from 1m long cuttings!

Has anybody here tried growing it, or seen it growing in 'our' climate?

Mike
« Last Edit: August 25, 2018, 09:10:54 PM by MikeHardman »
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England

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John J

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Re: Moringa oleifera - moringa, miracle tree, drumstick tree
« Reply #1 on: August 26, 2018, 07:16:24 AM »
Mike, my apologies for not having followed up on this. Probably because they didn't germinate and so I had no plant to report on.
However, a plant that I also came across in that visit to the health-conscious guy's garden did grow and we still have is Gynura procumbens. It's common name is Longevity Spinach and there are several claims as to its potential medicinal qualities. For those who have the time and patience there is a lengthy report on https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4791373. The guy who introduced me to it claimed that eating just a couple of leaves a day would help to reduce cholesterol and sugar levels, among other things. I have to admit to not having strictly followed this regime, mostly because I tend to forget. I often don't realise until halfway through the day that I haven't taken my morning blood pressure tablets!
Cyprus Branch Head. Gardens in a field 40 m above sea level with reasonably fertile clay soil.
"Aphrodite emerged from the sea and came ashore and at her feet all manner of plants sprang forth" John Deacon (13thC AD)

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MikeHardman

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Re: Moringa oleifera - moringa, miracle tree, drumstick tree
« Reply #2 on: August 26, 2018, 09:15:49 AM »
Ah - shame the seeds didn't do.
If you get any more, and they grow, do let us know!

Gynura procumbens - yes, I grow that myself.
Easy to start from cuttings in water, and fairly rampant once it gets going.
I just need to remember to eat it.
[http://www.mgsforum.org/smf/index.php?topic=2416.msg16707#msg16707]

Mike
Mike
Geologist by Uni training, IT consultant, Referee for Viola for Botanical Society of the British Isles, commissioned author and photographer on Viola for RHS (Enc. of Perennials, The Garden, The Plantsman).
I garden near Polis, Cyprus, 100m alt., on marl, but have gardened mainly in S.England