Moringa concanensis Nimmo

Based on descriptions from herbarium sheets, I expected M concanensis to look like M. oleifera but with only bipinnate leaves. When I saw the plant in the field, I was surprised to see that it is in fact very distinctive. Moringa concanensis has a very strong central trunk that is covered with an extremely distinctive layer of very furrowed bark that can be more than 15cm thick. The flowers also have distinctive green patches at the tips of the petals and sepals. Nevertheless, studies of Moringa in the range of M. concanensis need to be very careful to make sure that they are distinguishing between M. concanensis and M. oleifera.

M. concanensis occurs in tropical dry forest from southeastern Pakistan almost to the southern tip of India. It has recently been found in western Bangladesh. Despite this wide range, M. concanensis habitat is under heavy pressure from agriculture and urbanization.

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