Morinda citrifolia shoots and fruits ~ Mengkudu

Everybody around here call this tree as mengkudu. To germinate mengkudu seeds, one has to be extremely patient because the seeds take three months to germinate.  I remembered that very well because I was about to give up and wanting to throw the seemingly dormant seeds away. The better side of me took pity and put them in a pot and let nature handle them. Yes, its three long months to see little roots coming out. Once it set foot or rather root on the ground, it keeps on growing.  After a year and a half its almost 6 feet and it has lovely fruits as well.

I remembered putting all garden waste, leaves, and empty clay pots on  5 feet diameter spot, and left the organic matter to rot for about 3 months.  The first to be planted right in the centre there was one lucky mengkudu seedling, and later followed by other plants as companions The decayed organic matter must have soften the soil and make it really fertile for mengkudu tree to grow that fast. Another friend who had been given seedlings, had his tree half the size.

Before fruits mature, they had to go developmental phases

buah mengkudu ( the fruit of Morinda citrifolia)

buah mengkudu

buah mengkudu

buah mengkudu

Kakdah had tried using mengkudu shoots as ulam or salad. I expect it to be bitter, but it turned out to like cooked cabbage. The fruit is something else. When it is ripe, it smells awful, but it has all the medicinal values where extracts had long been packed and sold in drug stores.

bangchik and kakdah

putrajaya backyard garden