Moringa Tree, Miracle Tree with many benefits

The Moringa Tree (Moringa oleifera) is a small (about 20’ in height) fast growing tree that is a good food source containing many beneficial nutrients and is also used in medicine. The leaves fruit and seeds are edible but the roots may be toxic. Because of its many good qualities it is also called the Miracle Tree and is being planted in third world countries to help overcome hunger. It has also been suggested for planting as a survival food. Seeds are readily available through the internet from many sources but the price varies widely from $0.05 to $2.00 per seed from what I have seen in a quick search.

The stems are very brittle so it has no use as a wood source but has been used as a live fence if planted very close together.


“Moringa is a plant that is native to the sub-Himalayan areas of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. It is also grown in the tropics. The leaves, bark, flowers, fruit, seeds, and root are used to make medicine.

Moringa is used for “tired blood” (anemia); arthritis and other joint pain (rheumatism); asthma; cancer; constipation; diabetes; diarrhea; epilepsy; stomach pain; stomach and intestinal ulcers; intestinal spasms; headache; heart problems; high blood pressure; kidney stones; fluid retention; thyroid disorders; and bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic infections.

Moringa is also used to reduce swelling, increase sex drive (as an aphrodisiac), prevent pregnancy, boost the immune system, and increase breast milk production. Some people use it as a nutritional supplement or tonic.

Moringa is sometimes applied directly to the skin as a germ-killer or drying agent (astringent). It is also used topically for treating pockets of infection (abscesses), athlete’s foot, dandruff, gum disease (gingivitis), snakebites, warts, and wounds.

Oil from moringa seeds is used in foods, perfume, and hair care products, and as a machine lubricant.

Moringa is an important food source in some parts of the world. Because it can be grown cheaply and easily, and the leaves retain lots of vitamins and minerals when dried, moringa is used in India and Africa in feeding programs to fight malnutrition. The immature green pods (drumsticks) are prepared similarly to green beans, while the seeds are removed from more mature pods and cooked like peas or roasted like nuts. The leaves are cooked and used like spinach, and they are also dried and powdered for use as a condiment.

The seed cake remaining after oil extraction is used as a fertilizer and also to purify well water and to remove salt from seawater.
How does it work?
Moringa contains proteins, vitamins, and minerals. As an antioxidant, it seems to help protect cells from damage.”

Source for above quote:
www.webmd.com...


The seeds can purify water by removing up to 95% of harmful bacteria.
miracletrees.org...


The Moringa Tree is easy to grow and can tolerate different soil types but prefers light well drained sandy or loamy soil with a neutral to slightly acidic pH of 6.3-7.0. It can tolerate infrequent light frosts but can be grown in pots and overwintered indoors in colder regions.

miracletrees.org...



My big question is that since it is so fast growing and has so many vitamins and minerals is the tree producing them or removing them from the soil that will over time deplete the soil making it worse? I keep thinking: if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

The only bad thing about the Moringa Tree that I could find were that it can be damaged by rabbits and deer.

This is the first I've ever heard of this tree. It sounds fascinating, OP. I am looking forward to learning more about it. I hope in my next life I will have a green thumb.

reply to post by LuFri


Hi, as far as I know all plants and trees will take nutrients from the soil, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. It's why farmers practice crop rotation, planting 3 different crops in the same soil over 3 years, each in it's own bed, once.
Different plants will put nutrients back into the soil and extract them at different rates.

Trees are notorious for soaking up moisture from the ground, but given this one's natural habitat it doesn't sound that greedy.

Nearly all plants have health benefits, but we've forgotten many of them. Snowdrops (Galanthus), for example are being explored because of their usefulness in treating Alzheimer's, as are daffodils.

It's great this tree's benefits are being realised, good find!

I bought some Moringa seeds a couple of years back, but couldn't get them to germinate.

There are a lot of healing plants I would love to grow, if only I could get them to germinate!

Wow, I only heard about this tree yesterday and I bookmarked the Wikipedia page to read about it later. Sounds like it could thrive in Australia on our poor soils and infrequent rain.

All plants take minerals out of the soil, they use these minerals to make vitamins, proteins, starch, oils etc. with CO2, H2O and sunlight. If I understand what they are saying, it seems this tree is particularly efficient at taking minerals and water out of the soil.

LuFri

Moringa is used for “tired blood” (anemia); arthritis and other joint pain (rheumatism); asthma; cancer; constipation; diabetes; diarrhea; epilepsy; stomach pain; stomach and intestinal ulcers; intestinal spasms; headache; heart problems; high blood pressure; kidney stones; fluid retention; thyroid disorders; and bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic infections.

Moringa is also used to reduce swelling, increase sex drive (as an aphrodisiac), prevent pregnancy, boost the immune system, and increase breast milk production. Some people use it as a nutritional supplement or tonic.

Moringa is sometimes applied directly to the skin as a germ-killer or drying agent (astringent). It is also used topically for treating pockets of infection (abscesses), athlete’s foot, dandruff, gum disease (gingivitis), snakebites, warts, and wounds.

Moringa doesn't actually do anything for the above mentioned conditions. It may be used in third world countries as a cure-all but it does nothing. And there is no evidence to support any claims that it does.
It has been found to aid in the removal of parasitic worms, and it does provide a good dietary supplement for starving people. But that's it.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Moringa Oleifera can not survive in an environment prone to frost of freezing temperatures.

reply to post by aboutface

I think this is a very interesting tree also. I am going to order some seeds and try growing a couple this year.

reply to post by beansidhe

In our area farmers rotate between corn and soy beans. The corn grows very fast and because of it robs the soil of nitrogen, the soy beans are legumes and replace the nitrogen. I was wondering if there would be any long term problems with the Moringa Tree but there doesn't seem to be any. In India some dig a small trench around the roots and add leaves and manure; got to take care of the things that take care of you.

An interesting post

here is a youtube video on the benefits of the tree

reply to post by nugget1

Most of the growing instructions that I saw said to directly sow the seeds, keep the soil moist and wait for them to sprout in a couple of weeks. I did find one comment with the below instructions:

Put seeds in cup with water for 24 to 36 hours.
Then place the seeds into the clear container with a damp paper towel and place in a dark warm place.
Open and spray seeds with water every 2 days or as needed.
They will sprout in 2 to 3 weeks.
Then put sprouts into a small pot.

It is important to keep the soil moist but not over wet. Most of the commercial potting soils contain a lot of peat moss and I have not had much success with them. A mixture of manure and top soil works well for me.

reply to post by Cinrad

I only recently heard about this as well. One of the links I found in my research was from Australia, it should do very well for you.

www.daleysfruit.com.au...

allenidaho

LuFri

Moringa is used for “tired blood” (anemia); arthritis and other joint pain (rheumatism); asthma; cancer; constipation; diabetes; diarrhea; epilepsy; stomach pain; stomach and intestinal ulcers; intestinal spasms; headache; heart problems; high blood pressure; kidney stones; fluid retention; thyroid disorders; and bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic infections.

Moringa is also used to reduce swelling, increase sex drive (as an aphrodisiac), prevent pregnancy, boost the immune system, and increase breast milk production. Some people use it as a nutritional supplement or tonic.

Moringa is sometimes applied directly to the skin as a germ-killer or drying agent (astringent). It is also used topically for treating pockets of infection (abscesses), athlete’s foot, dandruff, gum disease (gingivitis), snakebites, warts, and wounds.

Moringa doesn't actually do anything for the above mentioned conditions. It may be used in third world countries as a cure-all but it does nothing. And there is no evidence to support any claims that it does.
It has been found to aid in the removal of parasitic worms, and it does provide a good dietary supplement for starving people. But that's it.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Moringa Oleifera can not survive in an environment prone to frost of freezing temperatures.

The site that the medical information was taken from was www.webmd.com and from my investigations they tend to lean on being more conservative with their claims than other sites, that's why I chose them as a reference. Again, this leads me back to if it sounds to good to be true it probably is.

Heavy frost and freezing can kill the trees and for this reason they are sometimes grown in pots and taken indoors for the winter. I also found a comment that someone had cut back the main trunk, made a 2' wire mesh fence to put around the trunk and filled it with dry leaves. The main trunk did die but it came back from the roots. This was from someone in north Texas and they said that the temperatures reached the low 20's.

www.daleysfruit.com.au...


Heavy pruning is recommended to maintain compact growth and so the fruit and leaves are easily reachable. Without pruning the tree will grow tall and unruly.

reply to post by LuFri


If you go to the WebMD page you provided and click on the "Uses" tab, it even says that there is insufficient evidence that it does anything for the entire list of symptoms.

reply to post by allenidaho


I have never seen a message like that on WebMD. I did a quick search for one of the items listed, cancer and did find references that it may be beneficial to help fight against some cancers. There were no trials or conclusive tests that I found but at less than $2 per seed it is very doubtful that there ever will be. I have not investigated any of the other listed conditions. I am fortunate to not suffer from any of the ailments listed so I would not feel any effects from the Moringa Tree in that regard except possible added prevention.

Even if the medical indications are unproved, to have a low cost edible tree that grows quickly, needs little maintenance and contains important nutrients it would be unwise of me to turn away such a gift. We had an apple tree die this past year and I plan on replacing it with a Moringa Tree. YMMV

I live in Guam. I've planted three of these trees on the side of my yard.
They grow RAPIDLY in our climate. In less than four years, they are about
thirty feet tall or so, as tall as my two story house. Their root structure
is not as damaging as say, a walnut tree, but don't plant them around
any buried services. I've got a fourth that I'm keeping below about eight
feet to see what it does.
We use the leaves in soup all of the time. They offer a nice taste
like a mild lemon grass and are quite good. As for all of the health things,
no idea.
The bad side of the tree?
They are a wind HAZARD. Last time we had forty MPH winds here
I was cutting up five to eight inch branches that had broken off. So,
I cut off everything below about ten inches and now I'm watching how
fast they grow back. Incredible.
If somebody wants pictures, I can post, but will have to look at the
rules, I've never posted a picture here.
Can I post a photobucket link?

Guam guy.