MORINGA RUSPOLIANA

This member of the Moringaceae family was given this name by Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler. It is found in northern Somalia to south-eastern Ethiopia and north-eastern Kenya, growing in a well drained soil with some water and lots of sun. The swollen roots can grow to 20 centimetres in diameter, the entire plant to six to eight metres in height. The flowers are pink. The genera name from the Malabar vernacular name; Moringo. The species name after Prince Eugenio Ruspoli,1866-1893 an Italian explorer and naturalist. Where it starts out with a significantly caudex/taproot, it looses this feature by age. The leaves and flowers are significantly larger then the rest of the genera.