Morinda citrifolia commonly known as Noni or cheese fruit plant is a small tree shrub of the tropical, coastal rainforests of the Indo-China region.
Its fragrant flowers resemble the flower of citrus fruits, hence the specific name citrifolia.
It’s fruit is commonly known as the Cheese fruit or Indian mulberry has an unpleasant vomit like odor and bitter taste. It is used as emergency food or starvation food in some areas.
In Chinese medicine, it is used to contain fever and as a tonic. The plant is similarly used in Japan. A Southeast Asian plant, it is commonly used in native medicines of the region. In Malaysia, the heated leaves are applied to the chest and abdomen to treat coughs nausea, colic and enlarged spleen. In Philippines, the juice of the leaves is given for arthritis. In Indochina, the fruit are prescribed for lumbago, asthma and dysentery.)
In ancient times, the bark and the roots were used as colour dyes.
It is an invasive species, requiring full sunlight and moderate water.
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