Cordia

For the automobile, see Mitsubishi Cordia.

Cordia
File:Cordia boisseri flowers.jpg
Cordia boissieri in bloom
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	(unplaced)
Family:	Boraginaceae
Subfamily:	Cordioideae
Genus:	Cordia L.
Type species
Cordia myxa L.
Species
See text
Synonyms
Cerdana Ruiz & Pav. Cordiada Vell. Cordiopsis Desv. Lithocardium Kuntze Rhabdocalyx Lindl. Sebesten Adans. Sebestena Boehm.

Cordia is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It contains about 300 species of shrubs and trees, that are found worldwide, mostly in warmer regions. Many of the species are commonly called manjack, while bocote may refer to several Central American species in Spanish. The generic name honours German botanist and pharmacist Valerius Cordus (1515-1544). Like most other Boraginaceae, the majority have trichomes (hairs) on the leaves.

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of Cordia is complex and controversial. Gottschling et al. (2005) say this is partly due to "extraordinarily high intraspecific variability" in some groups of species, making identification difficult, and partly due to new taxa having been "airily described on the basis of poorly preserved herbarium specimens".

Selected species

Main article: List of Cordia species

• Cordia africana Lam. – White Manjack
• Cordia alliodora (Ruiz & Pav.) Oken – Spanish Elm, Ecuador Laurel, Salmwood, Bocote (Neotropics)
• Cordia boissieri A.DC. – Anacahuita, Texas Olive (southern Texas, Northern Mexico)
• Cordia curassavica (Jacq.) Roem. & Schult. – Black Sage, Wild Sage
• Cordia dentata Poir. – White Manjack
• Cordia dichotoma G.Forst – Fragrant Manjack, Bird Lime Tree (Tropical Asia and Australasia)
• Cordia leucophlyctis Hook f. – (endemic to the Galápagos Islands)
• Cordia lutea Lam. – Yellow Cordia (western South America, including the Galápagos Islands)
• Cordia monoica
• Cordia myxa L. – Assyrian Plum (South Asia)
  Cordia domestica is treated as a separate species by some sources, and as C. myxa var. domestica by others. Cordia obliqua Willd. (the Clammy Cherry) has been placed in the "Cordia myxa complex", or treated as a synonym for Cordia dichotoma.
• Cordia platythyrsa Baker
• Cordia rupicola Urban – Puerto Rico Manjack (Puerto Rico)
• Cordia sebestena L. – Geiger Tree, Large-leaf Geigertree (southern Florida, Greater Antilles, Central America)
• Cordia sinensis Lam. (=C. gharaf) – Grey-leafed Saucerberry
• Cordia subcordata Lam. – Kou, Tou, Marer (Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, northern Australia, Pacific Islands)
• Cordia sulcata DC. – Mucilage Manjack, Laylay, White Manjack, Wild Clammy Cherry

Formerly placed here

• Carmona retusa (Vahl) Masam. (as C. retusa Vahl)

Ecology

Cordia species are used as food plants by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera species, such as Endoclita malabaricus, Bucculatrix caribbea, and Bucculatrix cordiaella. The Wild Olive Tortoise Beetle (Physonota alutacea) feeds on C. boissieri, C. dentata, C. inermis, and C. macrostachya.

Uses

Ornamental

Many cordias have fragrant, showy flowers and are popular in gardens, although they are not especially hardy.

As food

A number of the tropical species have edible fruits, known by a wide variety of names including clammy cherries, glue berries, sebesten, or snotty gobbles. In India, the fruits of local species are used as a vegetable, raw, cooked, or pickled, and are known by many names, including lasora in Hindi. One such species is Fragrant Manjack (C. dichotoma), which is called gunda or tenti dela in Hindi and lasura in Nepali. The fruit of the Fragrant Manjack is called phoà-pò·-chí (破布子), 樹子仔, or 樹子(POJ: chhiū-chí) in Taiwan where they are eaten pickled.

Glue

The white, gooey inner pulp of the fruits is traditionally used to make glue.

Wood

The wood of several Cordia species is commercially harvested. Ecuador laurel (C. alliodora), ziricote (C. dodecandra), Spanish elm (C. gerascanthus), and C. goeldiana are used to make furniture and doors in Central and South America.

Ziricote and bocote are sometimes used as wood for making acoustic guitar backs and sides. Well-known guitarist Richard Thompson currently plays a Lowden F-35C RT Richard Thompson Signature Model with ziricote back and sides. Similarly, drums are made from C. abyssinica, C. millenii, and C. platythrysa due to the resonance of the wood.

Gallery

• Cordia sinensis.jpg

  C. sinensis foliage and fruit.

• 

  C. sinensis trees.

• Cordia goetzei @ Lake Manyara NP HQ.JPG

  Fruits of Cordia goetzei