BOTANICAL RECORD
Morinda lucida Benth.
Brimstone tree · Morinda lucida · Rubiaceae
At Odo Valley
Probable identification from photographs: small lobed multiple fruit with circular marks, a long peduncle and simple elliptic leaves with entire margins. JB reports a diameter of 1.5 cm. No independent examination; similar species remain to be excluded.
Priorities for Odo Valley
Hypothesis
- Confirm the species, document flowers and ripe fruits, and record tree size and animal visitors. A small non-food dye trial using pruning residues could then be considered; its yield and colourfastness remain unknown. Preserve the roots and living trunk bark.
Documentation and strength of evidence
Documentation: Not assessed
Claimed effect: Not evaluated
Odo Valley notes
Tree reported at Odo Valley in the exchange of 20 September 2026. Tree height, number of individuals, origin of this specimen and photo capture dates were not supplied. No Odo food, medicinal, extraction or dye trial has been reported. Native status applies to the proposed species; it does not confirm this specimen’s identity.
Field observations
Foliage and fruit attached to a branch
- Known date or period
- Report received 20 September 2026; photo capture date unknown
- Date precision
- Unknown
- Location
- Odo Valley · Busua · Ghana
- Observer
- JB; visual description of the photograph
- The photograph shows elongated simple leaves with entire margins, a pale midrib and curved lateral veins. Leaf attachment and small structures at the nodes are partly obscured. It supports a probable identification without excluding every similar species.
Lobed fruit — reported diameter 1.5 cm
- Known date or period
- Report received 20 September 2026; photo capture date unknown
- Date precision
- Unknown
- Location
- Odo Valley · Busua · Ghana
- Observer
- JB; visual description of the photograph
- Measurements and units
- Fruit diameter: approximately 1.5 cm, according to JB.
- The photographed fruit is green, rounded and lobed, with several circular marks and a long peduncle. Black colour at maturity has not been observed or confirmed at Odo.
Record sources 6
Sources and origins
Antispermatogenic activity of Morinda lucida extract in male rats
- Author or institution
- Y. Raji, O. S. Akinsomisoye & T. M. Salman
- Publication year
- 2005
- Source link
- View source ↗
- DOI
- 10.1111/j.1745-7262.2005.00051.x
- Type
- Rat reproductive-toxicology study
- Page, table or passage
- Abstract: sperm, histology and fertility
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-20
Experimental animal signal; magnitude of human risk and a safe human dose are undetermined.
Morinda lucida Benth. — Plants of the World Online
- Author or institution
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
- Publication year
- Continuously updated database
- Source link
- View source ↗
- Type
- Institutional taxonomic reference
- Page, table or passage
- Accepted name; native range; biome
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-20
Species-level data; does not identify the Odo tree.
Antiplasmodial activity of Morinda lucida Benth. leaf and bark extracts against Plasmodium berghei infected mice
- Author or institution
- O. S. Oladeji, A. P. Oluyori & A. O. Dada
- Publication year
- 2022
- Source link
- View source ↗
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.12.017
- Type
- Experimental mouse study
- Page, table or passage
- Methods and results
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-20
Small animal groups; experimental extracts and doses. Neither a clinical trial nor a human dosage recommendation.
JB — Odo Valley tree, photographs and fruit diameter
- Author or institution
- JB
- Publication year
- 2026
- Type
- Reported observations and supplied photographs
- Geographic origin
- Odo Valley · Busua · Ghana
- Page, table or passage
- IMG_AC083B72-8D08-4177-B334-C626071B5908.jpeg ; IMG_ACC2EFB4-C307-4EE6-BA04-F473916A65B5.jpeg
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-20
- Provenance and context
- Photographs supplied and fruit reported as 1.5 cm in the exchange of 20 September 2026. The initial Google Lens suggestion is a lead, not a botanical determination.
Photo capture date unknown. Reported measurement, not independently checked.
Morinda lucida — PROTA
- Author or institution
- C. Zimudzi & D. Cardon
- Publication year
- 2005
- Source link
- View source ↗
- Type
- Botanical and ethnobotanical monograph
- Page, table or passage
- Description; uses; properties; management
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-20
Historical synthesis; regional traditions not verified in Busua. Medicinal use does not establish clinical efficacy.
Morinda lucida — relaxation of rat aortic rings
- Author or institution
- R. R. Ettarh et al.
- Publication year
- 2004
- Source link
- View source ↗
- Type
- Isolated animal-tissue study
- Page, table or passage
- Abstract: ex vivo experiment
- Date accessed
- 2026-09-20
Ex vivo result; this study does not establish clinical efficacy against hypertension.