Moringa drouhardii Jumelle

With its bloated bright white trunks, Moringa drouhardii is a conspicuous element of the southern Malagasy dry forest. It grows in scattered stands that can number hundreds of individuals, usually on limestone. I found many young trees in gaps in the dry forest in the southeast of the island. In cultivation, M. drouhardii grows extremely fast, easily surpassing three meters in its first year. This fast growth rate may permit it to exploit these gaps in the forest.

Like other moringas in other parts of the world, Moringa drouhardii is used medicinally. The gouges on the trunk of one of the trees shown below are where locals regularly remove the very strongly scented bark and wood for treatment of colds and coughs.

Back to the Moringa Home Page start page
 

home - people - research - images of the dry tropics - exploration - acknowledgements

Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Circuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad Universitaria
Copilco, Coyoacán A. P. 70-367
C. P. 04510, México, D. F.
MÉXICO

(52) 55 5622-9124 fon (52) 55 5555-1760 fax
molson@ib.unam.mx