Plant Profile: Noni, Morinda citrifolia

Noni street tree in Tulum, Mexico

Noni, Morinda citrifolia

aka Cheese plant

I’m still on the tropical plant kick. I felt this plant could use a post of it’s own.

I first met and learned about this plant in 2009 when I was in Panama. I followed this trail through the jungle and across cattle pastures to find this little shop that I had been told about which served noni juice, smoothies and other products. (They also had a coffee farm and served coffee that they grew!) Noni tastes and smells HORRIBLE. So, why go out of my way to drink this horrible tasting drink, you may ask. I did this because I had been told about the fruit’s high medicinal value.

There are many claims, some actually quite outrageous, about the health benefits of the noni fruit. It is claimed to a be super, cure-all fruit. “It will cure cancer! Diabetes! Liver problems! ETC!” I hope everyone is warey of claims like this when you see them, as there is no magic plant that will cure all your ills. I do believe plants have many medicinal properties and consuming them will make you healthy- we are meant to eat the plants! But please don’t try to cure your cancer by drinking noni juice- this is dangerous to your health. I am not saying it can’t help health issues, but please don’t rely on any one ‘magic’ plant to cure you.

That being said, there have been many studies done on noni to find out just how healthy this little stinky fruit it. It has been found to have many phytochemical constituents that do have proven health benefits.

“The following is a partial list of the phytochemical constituents in ripe noni fruit, and some of their known biological activities.
1-Hexanol - antisepticAcetic acid – bactericide, fungicideAsperuloside – antiinflammatory, laxativeAucubin – antioxidant, bactericide, laxativeBenzoic acid – antiseptic, bactericide, fungicideBenzyl alcohol – anesthetic, antisepticCaprylic acid – candidacide, fungicide Damnacanthal - catharticEugenol – analgesic, anesthetic, antiinflammatory, antiseptic, cancer-preventiveGlucuronic acid - detoxicantLimonene – anticancer, antitumor, hypercholesterolemicLinoleic acid – antiarteriosclerotic, cancer-preventive, hepatoprotectiveMyristic acid – cancer-preventiveNoni-ppt – antitumor, immunomodulatoryOleic acid – cancer-preventivePalmitic acid - antifibrinolyticScopoletin – analgesic, antiedemic, antiinflammatory”

This was pulled from this site, which is a good source of more noni information with a full works cited section(which is always good when you are looking for facts on something that has wild claims about it).

The plant!

Its native range extends through Southeast Asia and Australia and is now found throughout the tropics(the photos are from noni I found growing as a street tree in Mexico). It is an evergreen shrub that can grow to about 10m. It has big green shiny leaves and is a member of the coffee family. It can grow in a variety of environments and soil types. In some places it is considered a weed because it can grow vigorously in places where not much else can. The tree flowers multiple times a year producing clusters of small white flowers with a sweet aroma. Because it flowers multiple times a year, it also fruits multiple times a year. The fruit produced is a bumpy, fleshy, round shape which is cream colored when ripe. It has a pungent cheesy odor when ripe, which is why it is also called Cheese plant.  

Other uses

Before it the fruit became widely used for medicine, the other parts of the plant were used for things as well. The roots and bark of the noni tree were used by many indigenous societies to make fabric dyes. Other parts of the plant were also commonly used topically in traditional medicine. The leaves and fruit had been mixed with oils and used to treat wounds

Sources:

Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/noni/downloads/morinda_species_profile.pdf

College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources

http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/noni/uses.asp

The Medicine Hunter

http://www.medicinehunter.com/noni

Organic Facts

https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/beverage/noni-juice.html

5 Awesome Tropical Plants

How could I come all the way to Mexico and not do a post about some of the amazing tropical plants all around me? The abundance of useful plant life around is crazy. Yes, all plants are 'useful' in that they give us air to breathe and are inherently beautiful but the usefulness of the plants here goes beyond that. Everywhere you look there is food or medicine growing all around you. I find myself walking the streets staring up at the trees looking for what they have to offer. Some of the trees I saw on my way to the store this morning include: mango, lime, tamarind, noni, neem and of course coconut(and those are just the edible ones I took note of). There is just something really special about being able to look out the window and seeing a tree COVERED in mangoes. From where I am sitting now, I can see just that(along with all the coconuts you could ever want).

I picked five awesome tropical plants to highlight here for you. Enjoy (:

Agave

Agave tequilana, Blue Agave

Colin with the giant Blue Agave

Agave americana 'Marginata' 

The agave plants here can get so massive! They can live from 10-30 years and grow 10ft wide. Towards the end of an agave's life, it'll shoot up a flower stalk that can reach up to 26ft tall. As most of the plants here are very useful, this one is where tequila comes from. Well, tequila only comes from Blue Agave, but you can make mezcal from other types of agave. (Tequila is a type of mezcal- you can learn all about the differences here.) The leaves of the agave plant also contain a fiber that can be used for rope making and a special form of leather embroidery called Piteado.

Bay Leaf Palm

Sabal mauritiiformis

These bright green palms were everywhere around the ruins of Muyil. It was so cool to be walking through the dark jungle and see the sun shining on these big leaves, like big greens suns throughout the forest. The Mayans, and many still today, used these leaves for thatching roofs. (Learn more about Mayan roofing here)  Below is a photo I took of a thatched roof in Tulum. The leafs can also be used to make baskets and other crafts.

Nopal

I tried nopal for my first time on this trip. I had eaten the prickly pear fruit before but I didn't know you could eat the paddy as well. Some other names for the nopal cactus are opuntia, nopalli, prickly pear, cactus pear fruit, nopol, tuna cardona or “tuna”, and westwood-pea. Nopal was a warrior food for the Aztecs. It was believed to give courage and resolution. It is now found that it has antioxidant and cholesterol-lowering properties. Check out this site to learn lots about nopal's health benefits, along with some recipes.  

Ficus Tree

Ficus growing on the Muyil ruins

In Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve

Monkey climbing at the Muyil ruins

Dana on the ficus growing on the Muyil ruins

Roots growing into the Tulum ruins

Ficus trees are some of my favorite magical jungle trees. I mean.. look at them. They can send roots down from their branches and plant themselves all around them, growing huge. This feature was incorporated into Mayan building techniques. They "employed Ficus trees planted around their pyramids, so that its hanging roots would provide for an tight external framing that together with the cement would render the buildings resistant to the ever present hurricanes of the region."(source) In the photos above you can see that some are a bit too close to the pyramids (on them!), and will eventually destroy the buildings. But, so it goes, the jungle will take back what belongs to it. 


Coconut Tree

I couldn't not mention the coconut tree. You can't go outside without seeing these everywhere. From where I am sitting, I can count 16. Americans are in recent years finally discovering all the uses of the coconut tree. There are a zillion websites claiming a zillion benefits and uses of coconut oil(here's a list of 107 uses..random number). Ooo and the miraculous hydration powers of coconut water(peace out hangover). I unfortunately had food poisoning yesterday and was in great need of re-hydrating. Today I took full advantage of these awesome trees. Laying under an umbrella with a fresh coconut watching the ocean... it was a pretty nice way to recover.  


I could go on and on about all the awesome tropical plants here. I love them so much! Maybe I'll have to do another post about some more later. For now, enjoy these. 

Showing my love <3

Before & After: Windsor Terrace

It's time for another 'before & after' post from one of our awesome gardens from last summer. We are getting pumped about the coming season and looking at our past projects instead of thinking about the cold is way more fun. 

(Cold? What cold? Sorry, I'm still in sunny Mexico but I heard it's pretty freezing back home. Sorry guys, don't mean to rub it in.. :D )

Anyway, this is a wonderful backyard garden we did in Windsor Terrace. 

BEFORE

The yard had preexisting turf lawn and a stone-walled back and side perimeter bed laid out. 

AFTER

We added Ilex Sky Pencils along the back fence. These keep their color year round and sport nice purple berries in the fall. They will grown to 6-8 ft tall! 

Along the sides, we added some Hydrangeas which will grow huge with big beautiful snowball looking blooms. Can't wait to see how big they are later this year!

Flowering perennials were selected in purples, yellow, and white which will bloom from May through October. 

The wall is a nice feature in the yard and we wanted to accent it by having plants that will creep over the sides.

Look at that yarrow shine!

All of these perennials are loved by pollinators! That purple Agastache blooms so late into the season giving bees food when there is little else around in bloom.

Here's one now!

Our "Before and After"s are usually photos from right after we plant. Plants are just in their infancy when they are first planted. They will grow so much and fill out the yard. I can't wait to go back this season and get some real "After" photos to see how much everything has grown. 

How to Mount a Staghorn Fern

I am lucky enough to be writing this from Mexico and I love jungle plants oh so much, so I thought I'd share a little tutorial on incorporating an awesome tropical plant into your home. Staghorn ferns are members of the Polypodiaceae plant family. They thrive as epiphytes, which are plants that harmlessly grow on another plant, usually a tree, and derive their moisture and nutrients from the air, and rain.

Because they grow on other plants, you must mount your staghorn fern on wood or in a basket. This allows you to hang your staghorn on the wall as a beautiful, growing piece of art. I mounted some for Christmas for my Staghorn NYC teammates and took lots of photos so I could share with all of you!

Step 1: Choose your mounting board. Attach brackets to the back so you can hang your staghorn on the wall when you're done. This will be hard to do at the end without hurting your fern, so do it first!

Step 2: Turn your board over and trace a circle around the base of your pot.

Step 3: Use screws or nails around the circle. You can do more all the way around the circle if you want but I just did four.

Step 4: Gently remove the Staghorn from the soil. Be careful not to break the shield (the brown part at the base). 

Step 5: Put a small pile of soil in the circle you made and cover this with sphagnum moss. This can easily be found at any garden store. It's good to soak the moss in water before you use it. 

Step 6: Place your fern on your pile of moss. Make sure it's facing the direction you want it to grow (check the brackets on the back!). 

Step 7: You should use fishing line to attach the fern but I couldn't find any so I used floral wire that I had(not the best option). Wrap the wire/line around one of the screws. Pull it taught and crisscross around the base of your fern to the other screws.  When it's secure, tie it to the last screw and cut the excess.

Step 8: Viola! You can hang your fern! Hang in a place your fern will get indirect light.

Caring for your fern: Weekly, give the whole thing a good soaking, the board and the plant. Let it dry out before rehanging.  Make sure you don't let the leaves get too dusty because it absorbs through its pores. It enjoys a nice misting once in a while as well.