Moringa aptera, Moringa concanensis, Moringa pterygosperma.

Moringa aptera Gaertn. Moringaceae.

Nubia and Arabia. The seeds are exported to Syria and Palestine for medicinal and alimentary use.

Moringa concanensis Nimmo.

East Indies and India. The unripe fruit is eaten.

Moringa pterygosperma Gaertn. Horseradish Tree.

Northwest India. The horseradish tree is cultivated for its fruit, which is eaten as a vegetable and preserved as a pickle, and for its leaves and flowers which are likewise eaten. Dutt says it is cultivated for its leaves, flowers and seed-vessels, which are used by the natives in their curries. The root, says Royle, is universally known to European residents in India as a substitute for horseradish. Ainslie says the root is generally used and the pods are an excellent vegetable. According to Firminger, the root serves as a horseradish and the long, unripe seed-pods are used boiled in curries. It is also cultivated by the Burmese for its pods, but by Europeans it is chiefly valued for its roots. In the Philippines, the leaves and fruit are cooked and eaten. In the West Indies, the oil expressed from the seeds is used in salads.


Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.