Plants trees, shrubs, subshrubs, or perennial herbs with tuberous rootstocks, often smelling of horseradish Leaves alternate, odd-pinnate, with 1-3 leaflets; leaflets mainly opposite, entire; stipules and stipels absent or minute, sometimes stipite glands present at the base of the petioles and pinnae. Inflorescences axillary panicles. Flowers radially to somewhat bilaterally symmetric, bisexual; sepals 5, imbricate in bud; petals 5, imbricate; stamens 5 fertile alternating with 3-5 staminodes, filaments free or partly united; anthers dorsifixed, with 1 theca each; ovaries , cylindrical, 1-celled, of 3 carpels; styles terminal, slender, without stigmatic lobes; ovules numerous. Fruits capsules, elongate, 3-valved; seeds often with 3 conspicuous wings, endospermabsent, embryos straight.
The family Moringaceae has only one genus, Moringa, which has 14 species. most in tropical northeast Africa.
The flowers often flower before the leaves appear. This makes identification difficult because leaves and fruits are often needed for identification.
