Tuesday, March 15, 2011

A new entrant into the garden - Moringa oleifera

Sunday provided ample time for me to go around and find a new plant species to enter the garden - and I chose Moringa oleifera. Oh, thats the scientific name. Its more commonly called Drumstick. Surprisingly, the Tamil name for the tree is Murungai, so similar to the scientific name. The leaves are highly nutritious and the green pods make a very tasty dish. Its widely used in the preparation of Sambar, a South Indian Delicacy. 
An interesting fact that I came across on the web (and I am proud of this): India is the largest producer of Moringa.


There is a saying in Tamil Language in India "Murungaiyai odithu vala, pillaiyai adithu vala" (Meaning: the murungai tree must be cultivated by regular pruning, children must be groomed with proper guidance(by punishing too).

2 comments:

  1. The drumstick tree in our garden has regularly started providing us with it's fruit and aren't we all simply loving it! The funny part is that we are all so very used to the bought in the market drumsticks, that in a way we were "disappointed" at the way the freshly cooked within the hour of picking drumsticks from our tree would simply melt in the mouth! As compared to the chewy ones from the market. Funny how we get conditioned by our environment and situations. However, fresh blossoms are still abloom on the tree and we look forward to the next juicy batch.

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  2. Moringa is a tropical tree with multiple uses and which is resistant to drought. Moringa has twice much calcium than milk. Moringa has many healthy and useful benefits.

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