Drum strick

Drumstick is a native of India, and possibly parts of Africa, Arabia, South East Asia, South America and the Pacific and Caribbean Islands. The vegetable drumstick plant is also named as "ben oil tree" after commercial oil extracted from the seeds. The root of the drumstick tree is sometimes used as a substitute for horseradish and hence it is also called the "horseradish tree."
The drumstick leaves fruits and flowers are edible and a common vegetable in India, the Philippines, Hawaii, and many parts of Africa and Asia. Drumstick tree is often planted in Africa as a living fence. It is generally believed in South Asia that drumstick trees planted on graves are will keep away the ghosts and evil spirits and hence its branches are used as charms against witchcraft. The drumstick tree is widely cultivated in tropical Africa, tropical America, Sri Lanka, India, Mexico, Malaysia and the Philippines.
The drumstick tree can be propagated using seeds or cuttings. Seeds may be sown directly in the field or in seedbeds and the seedlings transplanted to the field after 2 to 3 months. Drumstick tree is a perennial, evergreen tree that grows up to 20 ft (6.1 m) tall, with a straight trunk with corky, whitish bark. It grows well in hot, semi-arid and humid regions and in well-drained sandy or loamy soils. The tree has tuberous taproot and brittle stem is with corky bark. The leaves are pale green, compound, tripinnate, 30-60 cm (11.8 to 23.6 in) in length, with many small leaflets. The lateral leaflets are elliptic in shape while the terminal one is obovate and slightly larger than the lateral ones. The fruit pods are pendulous, green turning greenish brown, triangular and split lengthwise into 3 parts when dry. The pods are 1 to 4 ft (30-120 cm) long and 1.8 cm (0.7 in) wide and tapering at both ends. The pods contain about 10 to 20 seeds embedded in the fleshy pith.
The seeds are dark brown and the kernel is surrounded by a lightly wooded shell with three papery wings. Drumstick leaves are good source of protein (Freiberger et al., 1998). The leaves, flowers and pods are used as significant sources of vitamins A, B and C, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, folic acid, pyridoxine, ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, calcium, iron, and alpha-tocopherol (Dahot, 1988). Fresh tender leaflets are stripped and used as a leafy vegetable and a potherb that is cooked either alone or with lentils. The young pods, also known as "drumsticks" or "Moringai" by Indian communities, are cooked as vegetable. The pods are sold fresh and/or canned in many Asian grocery stores and markets.