Noni fruit tree

Noni fruit tree

Noni tree has scientific name: Morinda Citrifolia L. and is usually found in tropical and temperate regions. In the forest, it grows in secondary forests and forests recovering after shifting cultivation. It is the tree raising in tropical Asia, eastern polynesia, Oceania, also in India, China, Vietnam.

Noni grows wild in South East Asia, West Indies, Hawaii. In Vietnam, it grows in damp areas along rivers, streams, ponds or canals throughout the southern provinces and some central provinces. This species was first described by L. in 1753. Noni deriving from the Tahit Archipelago is a long standing plant in Vietnam, and has survived for more than 2,000 years.

Characteristics of Noni fruit tree

• Noni is a wood small tree and grows upright.
• Body: Noni is 4-8 m tall. Body and yong branches are fat, have four edges and green or light brown colour. Shoots are green, square, smooth and have grooves. Old branches are round and gray-brown.
•  Leaf: Leaves grow oppositely and have oval shape. In addition, they are 12-30 cm long and 6- 15 cm wide. Edges are winding. Leaves are dark green on the top and on the lower face, they are lighter . The leaves are slightly wavy. The shape of leaf veins is like feather. Leaf veins prominent on the underside and have 6-7 pairs of tendons. Petioles are 1-2 cm long. Leaves which are between the two opposite leaves have oval shape, light green colour and are 1-1.5 cm tall.
• Flowers: The flower cluster is round or slightly elliptical and outside the axillary. The axial cluster of flower is cylindrical, green, smooth, 1-2 cm long. The bottom of the flower cluster has 3 narrow slices and is 5-8 mm long. Flower is monotonous, bisexual, pattern 5. Bell is a rounded edge. Petal is 5,tubular funnel, has light green colour, 7-12 mm high; inside there is much white hair; 5 lobes are about 5-8 mm long, white, oval, spiked, spiked top is a small bend in. When flowers bloom, the lobes curved downwards. Stamen is 5, equal, loose, attached at the bellows flute interspersed with the petals, and very short. The anther is light yellow and about 4 mm long; has 2 cells, vertical opening, inside, rooting. Pollen is loose, spherical and light yellow. Ovule is 2, in front of back, bottom, has two cells and each cell is one ovule, centered. Stigma has fiber shape, light green and 5 mm long. 2 stigmas are slab form, 3 mm long and have blue-green colour. Noni blooms around the year, concentrated most from November to February and gives fruits from March to May.
• Fruit: Fruits are double because of the ovary and a part of the leaves of flowers on the clusters sticking together. Young fruits are green, 5-7 cm long and 3-4 cm wide. Old fruits are yellow, smooth, smell fetid and on the fruits, there is trace of the plate. Fruits are in oval shape and consist of many nuts attached to each other. When fruits ripe, they contain soft rice that is edible.
• Seed: many seeds, oval, one pointed, dark brown. People in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia have used all parts of the plant, including fruits, leaves, seeds and bark, to release toxins, enhance the immune system, fight aging, hair, … with 210 micronutrients.

Thanks to precious experience, many patients have applied for medical treatment. Nowadays, due to the demand for noni is very high, many patients want to find out more information about this herbal medicine but encounter many difficulties because of not knowing where noni grows or where sell it to find.