Morinda is a genus of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s in the madder

Rubiá

aRubiá is a municipality in the Spanish province of Ourense. It has a population of 1734 and an area of 101 km²....

 family, Rubiaceae

Rubiaceae

The Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants, variously called the coffee family, madder family, or bedstraw family. The group contains many commonly known plants, including the economically important coffee , quinine , and gambier , and the horticulturally valuable madder , west indian jasmine ,...

. The generic name is derived from the Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 words morus, meaning "mulberry," and indica, meaning "of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

," referring to the shape of the fruits.

Description

It comprises approximately 80 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

, distributed in all tropical

Tropics

The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately  N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at  S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...

 regions of the world. These species may be tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s, shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s or vine

Vine

A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...

s; some, like Morinda citrifolia, are trees that very much resemble vines. All Morinda species bear aggregate or multiple fruit

Multiple fruit

Multiple fruits are fruits that are formed from a cluster of flowers . Each flower in the inflorescence produces a fruit, but these mature into a single mass...

s that can be fleshy (like with Morinda citrifolia) or dry.

Most species of this genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 originate in the area of Borneo

Borneo

Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....

, New Guinea

New Guinea

New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...

, Northern Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, and New Caledonia

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

.

Morinda is used as a herb in Traditional Japanese, Korean and Chinese Medicine. In Chinese medicine, the root of morinda is known as 巴戟天 or simply 巴戟.

Selected species

Morinda angustifolia Morinda asperula Standl. Morinda asteroscepa Morinda asteroscepa Morinda asteroscepa is a species of plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is found in Malawi and Tanzania.-References:* Lovett, J. & Clarke, G.P. 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007.... K.Schum. Karl Moritz Schumann Karl Moritz Schumann was a German botanist.Dr. Schumann was the curator of the Botanisches Museumin Berlin-Dahlem from 1880 until 1894... (Malawi Malawi The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size... , Tanzania Tanzania The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state... ) Morinda citrifolia L. – Great Morinda, Noni, Aal (Southeast Asia Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic... ) Morinda citrifolia var. bracteata (Roxb. William Roxburgh William Roxburgh was a Scottish surgeon and botanist. He has been called the Father of Indian Botany.-Early life:Roxburgh was born at Underwood in the parish of Craigie, Ayrshire. He studied medicine in Edinburgh... ) Hook.f. Morinda citrifolia var. citrifolia L. Morinda fasciculata Morinda fasciculata Morinda fasciculata is a species of plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador.-Source:* Jaramillo, T., Cornejo, X. & Pitman, N. 2004. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007.... Benth. George Bentham George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :... (Ecuador Ecuador Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border... ) Morinda jasminoides Morinda jasminoides Morinda jasminoides, known as the Sweet Morinda or Jasmine Morinda, is a common climber growing in eucalyptus forests and rainforests of eastern Australia. There is a record of this plant in the far north of Western Australia.... A.Cunn. Allan Cunningham (botanist) Allan Cunningham was an English botanist and explorer, primarily known for his travels in New South Wales to collect plants.- Early life :... – Sweet Morinda (Eastern Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... ) Morinda longiflora Morinda lucida Benth. Morinda morindoides (Baker) Milne-Redh.

Morinda nana Morinda officinalis Morinda officinalis Morinda officinalis, also known as Indian Mulberry, is a plant in the Morinda genus.-Medicinal uses:Its root is used in Traditional Chinese medicine as an herb for:* Bone and sinew strengthening.... F.C.How (China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture... ) Morinda panamensis Seem. Morinda parvifolia Morinda pubescens Morinda royoc L. Morinda tinctoria Morinda tinctoria Morinda tinctoria, commonly known as Aal or Indian Mulberry , is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae, native to southern Asia.... Roxb. Morinda trimera Morinda trimera Noni kuahiwi is a species of flowering tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii.-References:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007... Hillebr. William Hillebrand William Hillebrand was a German physician. He traveled the world, including over 20 years in the Hawaiian islands. In 1850, Hillebrand lived at what is now Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu. He also became known as a botanist.-Life and career:... – Noni kuahiwi (Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of... ) Morinda umbellata L. Morinda yucatanensis Greenm.

Formerly placed here

• Psychotria muscosa (Jacq.) Steyerm. (as Morinda muscosa Jacq.)

External links

• World Checklist of Rubiaceae
• Complete species list