Moringa?

Last year I planted Moringa seeds in my food forest, and was never sure if they grew.  This year a couple of little seedlings are coming up which look suspiciously like Moringa.  But are they actually?

Tyler - give a couple of leaves a taste, if its moringa, it will taste what I would describe as strongly peppery.  Some liken it to horseradish.  I grew it in south west Florida thinking to use it for its high protein value, but it tasted so bad that I gave it up.  The tree grew like crazy, I cut most of the top off several times and it just kept on going.  I have grown neem trees before and tasted the leaves, moringa is not quite as bad, but close.  Think Tom hanks in the movie "big" trying to wipe the taste of caviar off his tongue!!   I know people who grow and use it in salads and cooked dishes, they have to be careful not to use too much or they ruin the taste of the dish.  Anyway, give it a try, my taste buds might be messed up, who knows.

We eat moringa leaves as a cooked veggie here, but we really like bitter greens.  It does look like moringa to me too.

I could not detect any spicy flavor.  Based on the list of what I planted in that area, the second most likely contender is False Indigo Bush.  Not edible, but a support plant.

I just planted Moringa seeds in my kitchen garden, so I might have another chance at that interesting plant.  I like bitter and spicy greens, so I hope the seeds grow.

Tyler, that looks very much like a mornings seedling to me. I'm no expert and have only grown one moringa from seed. With False indigo, the three terminal leaflets are almost joined at the base, while on moringa, there is stem between the leaflet bases.

Ditto.  That's moringa.  

My moringa isn't peppery -- at least young fresh leaves aren't.  The leaves are a bit tangy and slightly nutty, but not peppery in the way that arugula or nasturtium flowers are.

My moringa trees have made it through the winter months and are beginning to bud out the past 2 weeks.  Good stuff.  This will be the year I get a nice harvest from the trees.

Fantastic!  Thank you both.  I'm very excited!