07-08-2003, 06:22 PM
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Can someone identify this plant?
In article ,
wrote...
OK, I concede. No point in quarreling with the evidence!
Glad you have it to name.
PvR
Well, you had me mostly convinced that it must be something else,
although I couldn't go along with the Lauraceae idea [I've
never seen any Lauraceae with heads anything like this, and few
if any with opposite leaves]. If those were fruits and not flower
buds, it obviously couldn't be Morinda or any other Rubiaceae, but
I still had no good ideas where else to start looking.
Greg G schreef
Actually, I think you (mel) might have it with the Morinda Citrifolia. The
"fruit" shown on the pages that you posted was present around the tree. I
guess I failed to make the association between the spiky ball on the tree
and other (I assume more mature) brainy looking clumps that were around. I
was told that it was originally imported, IIRC from some polynesian
island, to Costa Rica. It is locally called "Noni" and has been used by the
nearby BriBri tribe as a cure-all medicine.
Interestingly, some of those Morinda web pages also called it
"noni", so that's further evidence.
Apparently it has also caused a
craze in the health food / alternative medicine industries.
Again, also shown by the Morinda web search results.
The owner of the farm did show me a ripe "fruit" and it was the most
malodorous clump of juice I ever had the misfortune to handle. It left a
disgusting smell on my hand that was very hard to wash away.
Thanks for the info everyone! Definitely take a trip to CR if you ever get
a chance. There is enough to see and do to keep any curious person busy for
a long time. Plus it is cheap and the beer is excellent.
Agreed.
cheers
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