Moringa hildebrandtii
Trunk and leaves of Moringa hildebrandtii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Moringaceae
Genus: Moringa
Species:
M. hildebrandtii
Binomial name
Moringa hildebrandtii

Moringa hildebrandtii, or Hildebrandt's moringa, is a tree species with a massive, water-storing trunk in the family Moringaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar, where it is extinct in the wild, but preserved by indigenous horticulture practices.[2]

The plant originally was thought to grow along the west coast of Madagascar, but ethnobotany data suggest it in fact grew in the island's extreme southwest.

Description

The plant's water-storing trunk grows up to 20 m. Its leaves are pinnate, compound, and can reach 1 m long. The leaf rachis and stem tips of young plants are distinctively deep red. Leaves spread around the trunk in an umbrella-like fashion. The small ivory-white flowers are borne in large sprays. Fruits are up to 50 cm long and contain 6 to 12 large nut-shaped seeds in a hard, light brown shell.

Rediscovery

In an article in Cactus World (the quarterly journal of the British Cactus and Succulent Society) the authors claimed to have rediscovered a population of M. hildebrandtii in the wild.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Letsara, R.; Razafindrahaja, V.; Razanatsoa, J. (2019). "Moringa hildebrandtii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T65523618A66155121. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T65523618A66155121.en. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Olson, M. E., and S. G. Razafimandimbison. 2000. Moringa hildebrandtii: A tree extinct in the wild but preserved by indigenous horticultural practices in Madagascar. Adansonia sér. 3 22(2) 217-221.
  3. ↑ J. B. Castillon & J. P. Castillon March 2007. Cactus World. The recent discovery of the first wild population of Moringa hildebrandtii (Moringaceae) in Madagascar
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