Bangkoro
Morinda citrifolia · Noni
- Names in the book
- Bankundo, Pankundo, Bag̃kuro, Nino, Kulit, Tumbog̃aso, Lino, Mambog, Takpus, Tag. and Vis.; Taliantar, Pam.; Apalot, Iloc.; Indian Mulberry, Indo-Eng.
- Colours
- flowerwhitefruitcream, yellow
- Native range
- Southeast Asia to Australasia
- In the Philippines, per the book
- In Luzon and, especially the M. tinctoria, in Malinta, Calauan and Tanauan.
- Family
- Rubiaceae, filed in the book under Rubiaceæ
- Printed as
- Morinda citrifolia, L.; variety: bracteata, Hoock, Jr. (M. ligulata, Blanco.)
- Sources
- Page 148 on Project Gutenberg · Wikipedia
The plant today
Morinda citrifolia is a fruit-bearing tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae. It is commonly known as noni or Indian mulberry, among many other names. Native to Southeast Asia and Australasia, the species was spread across the Pacific by Polynesian sailors. It is now cultivated throughout the tropics and is widely naturalised. The plant contains anthraquinones, which can be harmful to human health. Although the fresh fruit is edible, its pungent odour makes it worthwhile only as a famine food. It is also used in traditional medicine and processed into products such as juices.
Excerpt from “Morinda citrifolia” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Sa Tagalog
Ang Bangkudo (Morinda citrifolia) ay isang puno na namumunga ng prutas sa pamilya ng Rubiaceae. Ang katutubong saklaw nito ay umaabot sa Timog-silangang Asya at Australasia, at kumalat sa Pasipiko ng mga marinlang ng Polynesia. Ang species ay nilinang ngayon sa buong tropiko at malawak na naisagawa.
Sipi mula sa “Bangkudo” sa Tagalog Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 542 records of this plant from the Philippines. The ones with map coordinates fall in 61 provinces, most often Laguna (29), Davao del Norte (19), Palawan (18), Cagayan (16), Davao Oriental (16), Zamboanga del Norte (15), Bulacan (12), Cebu (12), and 53 more.
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1901 book says
A historical record, quoted as printed. Doses and remedies here are not medical advice.
Uses
In the Philippines, as well as in India, the root of the plant is widely used as a red dye. As a medicine the Tamul physicians use it in decoction to treat diarrhœa and dysentery. The fruit is emmenagogue and perhaps aperient. In Bombay the mashed leaves are applied to wounds and ulcers to hasten cicatrization; they also use the decoction internally as a febrifuge and tonic, 10 grams to 500 of water, a wineglassful twice a day.
The root bark contains a crystalline substance called by Anderson morindin, C28H30O15. It is a glucoside and exists in the form of yellow needles, soluble in alcohol and in cold water, insoluble in ether; dissolves in alkalies producing an orange-red color.
There is another species, M. tinctoria, Roxb.; M. Royoc, Blanco, called in Tagalog Tumboug̃ aso kapay, the roots of which are used by the Filipinos for the same purposes as the leaves of the former species; the dose, 8 grams a day. The powder is also applied to ulcers and sores, especially those of gangrenous aspect.
Botanical description
A small tree 11 or more feet high, branches opposite, quadrate at the extremities. Leaves opposite, oval, oblong, smooth, entire, glabrous. Petioles very short, with 2 broad, lanceolate stipules curved outward. Flowers white, opposite the leaves, fixed on globose, solitary receptacles from which spring the flowerets. Calyx proper, very short, monophyllous, a lanceolate leaflet springing from the border. Corolla tubular, woolly inside about the middle, with 5 lobules. Stamens 5, inserted on the walls of the corolla. Anthers thin, incumbent. Pistil somewhat longer than the corolla. Stigma cleft in 2 laminæ. Fruit: the receptacle of the flowerets ripens to a globe bristling with the remains of the calyces, like a berry covered with many smaller ones, each containing 2 monospermous, quadrangular seeds.
M. tinctoria, Roxb., is a climbing shrub with leaves opposite, ovate, keeled; petioles very short; flower and fruit like the foregoing species.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
- Green synthesis, characterization, antibacterial, and antifungal activity of copper oxide nanoparticles derived from Morinda citrifolia leaf extract
- Noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) fruit phenolic extract supplementation ameliorates NAFLD by modulating insulin resistance, oxidative stress, inflammation, liver metabolism and gut microbiota
- Solvents effect on phenolics, iridoids, antioxidant activity, antibacterial activity, and pancreatic lipase inhibition activity of noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) fruit extract