Morinda citrifolia
(Indian mulberry)

Preferred Common Name

• Indian mulberry

Other Scientific Names

• Belicea hoffimannioides Lundell
• Morinda aspera Wight & Arn.
• Morinda asperula Standl.
• Morinda bracteata Roxb.
• Morinda chachuca Buch.-Ham.
• Morinda elliptica (Hook.f.) Ridl.
• Morinda ligulata Blanco
• Morinda litoralis Blanco
• Morinda macrophylla Desf.
• Morinda mudia Buch.-Ham.
• Morinda multiflora Roxb.
• Morinda nodosa Buch.-Ham.
• Morinda quadrangularis G.Don
• Morinda stenophylla Spreng.
• Morinda teysmanniana Miq.
• Morinda tomentosa B.Heyne ex Roth
• Morinda zollingeriana Miq.
• Platanocephalus orientalis Crantz
• Samama citrifolia (L.) Kuntze
• Sarcocephalus leichhardtii F.Muell.

International Common Names

• English: canary-wood; cheesefruit; great morinda
• Spanish: mora de la India; morinda; noni; ruibarbo Caribe (Mexico)
• French: bois douleur ; morinde
• Chinese: hai bin mu ba ji

Local Common Names

• Australia: canary wood ; rotten cheesefruit
• Brazil: pau-azeitona
• Cambodia: nhoër srôk; nhoër thôm'
• Cuba: árbol de queso; mora de la India; noni
• Dominican Republic: bagá; buñuela; fruta del diablo ; manzana de puerto rico; manzanilla; nigua; piña de puerco; piñecla; piñuela
• Haiti: bois bouleur; fromagier
• Indonesia: bengkudu; cangkudu; mengkudu
• Jamaica: hog apple
• Laos: nhoo baanz
• Lesser Antilles: bilimbi; feuille froide; jumbie breadfruit; pain killer; pomme de singe; pomme-macaque; rhubarbe caraïbe
• Malaysia: mengkudu besar; mengkudu jantan
• Philippines: apatot ; bankoro; tumbong-aso
• Puerto Rico: gardenia hedionda; noni
• Thailand: yo ban

EPPO code

• MOJCI (Morinda citrifolia)

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Gentianales
•                         Family: Rubiaceae
•                             Species: Morinda citrifolia
•                                 Species: Morinda citrifolia

Rubiaceae is a family of flowering plants comprising 611 genera and 13,150 species of herbs, shrubs, trees and lianas distributed worldwide but largely tropical, especially diverse in Madagascar and the Andes (Stevens, 2012). The genus Morinda includes about 100 species of climbing shrubs, erect shrubs, or small trees (The Plant List, 2013).

There are forms of M. citrifolia previously recognized as botanical varieties (M. citrifolia var. citrifolia, M. citrifolia var. bracteata and M. citrifolia var. elliptica) and one cultivar (M. citrifolia cultivar Potteri) (Nelson, 2006; The Plant List, 2013), but now regarded as synonyms. The former var. bracteata is a small fruited variety with conspicuous bracts subtending the fruit. It is found in Indonesia and other parts of the region between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is cultivated in some locations. The former var. potteri is an ornamental, small-fruited, narrow-leafed type with green-and-white leaf variegation, which is distributed throughout the Pacific (Janick and Paull, 2008).

A proposal was been made to conserve the name Morinda citrifolia with a conserved type (Razafimandimbison et al., 2011). If this proposal had been rejected the name would have been applied to the species known as M. coreia and the species presently known as M. citrifolia would have to be renamed M. nodosa, which would cause confusion in this widely cultivated species.

Morinda citrifolia is a small tree or large evergreen shrub approximately 3–10 m in height at maturity and 15 cm or more in stem diameter. The plant sometimes finds support on other plants as a liana. The sapwood is soft and yellow-brown and the bark relatively smooth to slightly rough and grey or light brown. The light green, four-angled twigs have opposite, pinnately veined, glossy leaves attached by stout petioles, 1.5–2 cm long. Stipules are connate or distinct, 10–12 mm long, the apex entire or two- to three-lobed. The membranous, glabrous leaf blades range from elliptic to elliptic-ovate and range in size from 20 to 45 cm long and 7–25 cm wide. The tubular flowers are perfect, with about 75–90 in ovoid to globose heads. Peduncles are 10–30 mm long; the calyx a truncated rim. The corolla is white, five lobed, with the tube greenish white, 7–9 mm long and lobes oblong-deltate, approximately 7 mm long. There are five stamens, scarcely exserted and the style is about 15 mm long. Fruit (a syncarp) are yellowish white and fleshy, 5–14 cm long, about 3–7.5 cm in diameter, soft and fetid when ripe. Seeds are brown, about 4–9 mm long and have a distinct air chamber. The plant has a rooting habit similar to citrus and coffee, with an extensive lateral root system and a deep taproot (Janick and Paull, 2008).

M. citrifolia may have been distributed by man and carried westwards into the Indian Ocean by sea currents, reaching the Seychelles, and similarly into the Pacific between 30°N and 30°S latitude, reaching the Marquesas and Easter Island. It is present throughout South-East Asia both wild and cultivated (Groenendijk, 1991). In Hawaii, it was introduced in 1941 from Fiji and now it can be found planted and naturalized (Little and Skolmen, 2003).

M. citrifolia was widely spread across the Pacific by native peoples beginning 2000 years ago (Smith, 2002), and later in the late 1700s by Europeans exploring the islands of the South Pacific. European explorers noticed that this species was widely used by the native people across Pacific islands and for example, Captain Cook in his journals mentioned the use of “noni” for food and medicinally by island natives (Francis, 2004; Nelson, 2006).

Soil drainage

• free
• seasonally waterlogged

Soil reaction

• acid
• alkaline
• neutral

Soil texture

• heavy
• light
• medium

Special soil tolerances

• infertile
• saline
• shallow
• sodic

M. citrifolia spreads by seeds (Francis, 2004; Orwa et al., 2009). In cultivation, it can also be propagated vegetatively by cuttings made from stems and roots (Nelson, 2006).

Natural Dispersal (Non-Biotic)

Seeds can be dispersed floating in water. Seeds have a distinct air chamber and can retain viability even after months floating in water (e.g., ocean currents and/or streams and rivers), until their deposition on suitable substrates (Nelson, 2006).

Vector Transmission (Biotic)

Seeds are dispersed by bats, birds, and other mammals (Francis, 2004; Orwa et al., 2009).

Intentional Introduction

M. citrifolia has been widely introduced across tropical and subtropical regions of the world mainly for its fruits and medicinal uses (Nelson, 2006; Govaerts, 2017; USDA-ARS, 2017).

M. citrifolia is an invasive species with the capability to survive harsh environmental conditions and extended periods of drought. It is also recognized for its ability of persist and to disperse and colonize new areas without a specific biological dispersal agent, such as humans, rodents, and birds. Once naturalized, this species grows forming dense canopies that inhibit the establishment of native vegetation. It also has a very aggressive and extensive root system that outcompetes native plants for resources such as water and nutrients. On some islands across the Pacific region (i.e., Micronesia) M. citrifolia is considered a weed in some agroforestry or diversified farming settings (Nelson, 2006).

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Has a broad native range
• Abundant in its native range
• Highly adaptable to different environments
• Is a habitat generalist
• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Tolerant of shade
• Highly mobile locally
• Benefits from human association (i.e. it is a human commensal)
• Long lived
• Fast growing
• Gregarious
• Reproduces asexually

• Altered trophic level
• Damaged ecosystem services
• Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
• Modification of nutrient regime
• Modification of successional patterns
• Monoculture formation
• Reduced amenity values
• Reduced native biodiversity
• Threat to/ loss of native species

• Competition - monopolizing resources
• Competition - shading
• Rapid growth
• Rooting

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately
• Difficult/costly to control

M. citrifolia is harvested from both plantations and from the wild. This species is one of the most important botanical remedies and food supplements traded on the international market. Its fruits, leaves, fruit juice, and extracts are sold worldwide. The fruit and leaves are edible raw or cooked. Unripe fruit are cooked in curries and ripe fruit are consumed with salt in Myanmar. The ripe fruit has the smell of putrid cheese. Cooked fruit is mixed with coconut in Nauru. Very young leaves are cooked as vegetables (containing 4–6% protein) and eaten with rice in Java and Thailand (Janick and Paull, 2008).

M. citrifolia is often planted as a windbreak, to provide support for pepper vines, and as a shade tree in coffee plantations (Tan, 2001). It is sometime planted as an ornamental, but this practice is not very common due to the strong and sometimes offensive odour of ripened fruits and because the fallen fruits attract many flies and other insects.

All parts of the plant have traditional uses. The roots and bark are used for dyes and medicines; the trunks are used for firewood and tools; the leaves are used as leafy vegetables and for wrapping foods, in medicines and poultices; and the fruit are used as famine food, in juices and for topical and internal medicines. The root bark produces a red dye (morindin) and the plant was widely grown in Java in the late 19th century for this purpose before synthetic dyes became available. The dye is still used in high quality batik (Janick and Paull, 2008). The fruit pulp is used to clean hair, iron and steel, while the wood is occasionally used for poles and plant supports (Nguyen and Nguyen, 2003).

Economic Value

The worldwide market for products of M. citrifolia was an estimated US$400 million in 2002 and projected to reach up to US$ 1.3 billion in 2015 (Potterat and Hamburger, 2007; Assi et al., 2017). M. citrifolia contains phytochemicals that own antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antitumor, anthelminthic, analgesic, hypotensive, anti-inflammatory and immune enhancing effects that have attracted industries to employ it as a part of various products and for wide applications such as a natural source of medicines and chemical reagents as well as a green insecticide (Assi et al., 2017).

Social Benefit

M. citrifolia has been used for centuries for its curative properties to treat varieties of illnesses. The purported modern application of M. citrifolia as a complementary alternative medicine spans a vast array of maladies including high blood pressure, diabetes, beri-beri, asthma, coughs, fevers, centipede bites, sores, headaches, pneumonia, diarrhoea, pain, arthritis, depression, cancer, AIDS, skin parasites, skin and stomach ulcers, arteriosclerosis and senility. Some of these uses can be accounted for by the presence of a number of physiologically active chemicals including anthraquinones, alkaloids, scopoletin, glycosides, polysaccharides, asperuloide and organic acids such as caprioc, caprylic and ursolic acids.

While the plant enjoys an outstanding anecdotal reputation regarding these maladies and shows promise as an anti-cancer agent in mice experiments, many purported benefits of using M. citrifolia topically or internally have yet to be supported by published data from peer-reviewed clinical trials involving humans. Nevertheless, M. citrifolia has attained significant economic importance worldwide through a variety of health and cosmetic products made from its leaves and fruit. These products, including fruit juice and powders derived from fruit or foliage, are some of the most important botanical remedies and food supplements currently traded on the international market (Nguyen and Nguyen, 2003; Janick and Paull, 2008).

The ethnomedicinal and pharmaceutical properties are reviewed by Macpherson et al., 2007, Assi et al. (2017), Ali et al. (2016) and Torres et al. (2017). Gu et al. (2018) demonstrated that leaf extracts enhanced osteogenic differentiation in human cell lines. Pandy and Vijeepallam (2017) showed that methanolic fruit extracts, specifically the scopoletin and rutin components, alleviated symptoms of schizophrenia in mice.

Environmental Services

M. citrifolia has been planted in coastal areas for erosion control (Francis, 2004). On islands across the Pacific region, M. citrifolia is also used in traditional subsistence farming, intercropped with breadfruit, kava, papaya, mango, coconut, and bananas (Nelson, 2006).