Hello Everyone, I would like to know what differentiate the Morinda citrifolia plant species from that of the Morinda lucida plant species. Geographically location of these species. Thank you.
Morinda citrifolia and Morinda lucida differs in their range. The native range of Morinda citrifolia extends through Southeast Asia and Australasia while the native range of Morinda lucida is confined to Tropical Africa (Senegal to Cameroon, Sudan and Uganda, south to Angola, Zambia and Tanzania). Morinda citrifolia by habit is a tree while Morinda lucida by habit is a evergreen shrub or a small tree. Morinda citrifolia bears flowers and fruits all year round. Both belongs to family Rubiaceae.
Thank you so much Arvind Singh. I am most grateful for your swift response
Morinda citrifolia is distinct from M. lucida in having enlarged and leaf-like stipules, ellipsoid fruits and larger leaves (sometimes reach 25 x 35 cm). Former species is widely cultivated throughout tropics and M. lucida is native to Africa.
Morinda is not belong to Rubiaceae it is now Moringaceae, Please correct it, because if any mistake in their identification it will be dangerous to future also.
To my knowledge, Morinda is still belonging to family Rubiaceae. The presence of raphide idioblasts, valvate corolla aestivation and often heterostylous flowers points to a position within subfamily Rubioideae, family Rubiaceae. The genus Morinda can be distinguished from other Rubiaceae genera by the following characters : the inflorescence is a flowering head which are fused together by their calyx tubes; the pedicel is always lacking; the corolla tube and corolla throat are usually glabrous inside or not; the stamens are dorsifixed and exserted from the corolla throat; the style bears a bifid stigma; the domatia is present or absent, etc.
Morinda citrifolia is present in many tropical and subtropical regions, both wild and cultivated. Currently, it is distributed in India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Taiwan, Burma, Indo-China (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam), Thailand, Malesia (Philippines, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Celebes, Moluccas, New Guinea, Solomon Islands), Australia, Melanesia (Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia), Eastern Polynesia (Hawaii, Line Islands, Marquesas, Society Islands, Tuamotus, Pitcairn, Cook Islands), Western Polynesia (Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Futuna, Rotuma, Tuvalu), Micronesia (Pohnpei, Guam, Chuuk, Palau, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Northern Marianas). M. citrifolia has also become naturalized on the open shores of Central and South America (from Mexico to Panama, Venezuela, Suriname), Bahamas, Bermuda, and also some parts of Africa. There exist two main types, the large-fruited noni with oval leaves (common in Malesia) and the small-fruited noni with elongate leaves (common in Micronesia).
Morinda lucida is an evergreen shrub or small to medium-sized tree bearing a dense crown of slender, crooked branched. It can grow from 2.4 - 18 metres tall, though specimens up to 25 metres are recorded in coastal Cote D'Ivoire.M. lucida is distributed in Tropical Africa - Senegal to Cameroon, Sudan and Uganda, south to Angola, Zambia and Tanzania.
M. citrifolia can be distinguished from M. lucida in having enlarged fruiting and flowering heads, much number of flowers in a flowering head, much number of fruitlet, enlarged leaves, etc.
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