Cordia

For the automobile, see Mitsubishi Cordia.
Cordia
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.[1]
Species

See text

Synonyms

Cerdana Ruiz & Pav.
Cordiada Vell.
Cordiopsis Desv.
Lithocardium Kuntze
Rhabdocalyx Lindl.
Sebesten Adans.
Sebestena Boehm.[2]

Cordia is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It contains about 300 species of shrubs and trees, which 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).[3] Like most other Boraginaceae, a majority have trichomes (hairs) on the leaves.

Uses

Ornamental

Many Cordias have fragrant, showy flowers and are popular in gardens, although they are not especially hardy.[4]

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. (citation?)

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.[4]

Ziricote[5] and Bocote[6] are sometimes used as a 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.[7] Similarly, drums are made from C. abyssinica, C. millenii, and C. platythrysa due to the resonance of the wood.[8]

Ecology

Cordia species are used as food plants by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera species, such as Endoclita malabaricus, Bucculatrix caribbea, and Bucculatrix cordiaella.[9] The Wild Olive Tortoise Beetle (Physonota alutacea) feeds on C. boissieri, C. dentata, C. inermis, and C. macrostachya.[10]

Selected species

  • Cordia africana Lam. – White Manjack
  • Cordia alliodora (Ruiz & Pav.) Oken – Spanish Elm, Ecuador Laurel, Salmwood, Bocote (Neotropics)[11]
  • Cordia angustifolia (West ex Willd.) Roemer & J.A.Schultes – Basora
  • Cordia bahamensis Urban – Bahama Manjack
  • Cordia bellonis Urban – Serpentine Manjack
  • Cordia boissieri A.DC. – Anacahuita, Texas Olive (southern Texas, Northern Mexico)
  • Cordia borinquensis Urban – Capá, Muneco (Puerto Rico)[11]
  • Cordia buddeloides
  • Cordia collococca L. – Red Manjack (Neotropics)[11]
  • Cordia crenata
  • Cordia croatii
  • 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)[12]
  • Cordia dodecandra DC. – Ziricote (Southern Mexico, northern Central America, Cuba)[11]
  • Cordia eleagnoides DC. (Mexico)[11]
  • Cordia gerascanthus L. – Yauco, Spanish Elm, Laurel Negro, Baria
  • Cordia globosa (Jacq.) Kunth – Bloodberry, Butterfly Sage, Curaciao Bush
  • Cordia guanacastensis
  • Cordia holstii
  • Cordia kingstonia
  • Cordia laevigata Lam. – Smooth Manjack (Central America, Caribbean)[11]
  • Cordia lima – Lija

Formerly placed here

Gallery

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cordia.
Wikispecies has information related to: Cordia
  1. ↑ "Cordia L.". TROPICOS. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  2. ↑ "Cordia L.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2007-10-05. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
  3. ↑ Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: A-C. CRC Press. pp. 612–613. ISBN 978-0-8493-2675-2.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bennett, Masha (2003). Pulmonarias and the Borage Family. Timber Press. pp. 196–198. ISBN 978-0-88192-589-0.
  5. ↑ http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproducts.asp?CategoryName=+Backs+and+Sides&NameProdHeader=Ziricote Luthiers Mercantile page about Ziricote
  6. ↑ http://www.lmii.com/CartTwo/thirdproducts.asp?CategoryName=+Backs+and+Sides&NameProdHeader=Bocote Luthiers Mercantile page about Ziricote
  7. ↑ Presad, Anil (October 2009). "Richard Thompson" (PDF). Guitar Player: 50.
  8. ↑ Tudge, Colin (2007). The Tree. Random House. p. 237. ISBN 978-0-307-39539-9.
  9. ↑ Davis, Donald R.; Bernard Landry; Lazaro Roque-albelo (2002). "Two new Neotropical species of Bucculatrix leaf miners (Lepidoptera: Bucculatricidae) reared from Cordia (Boraginaceae)". Revue Suisse de Zoologie 109 (2): 277–294.
  10. ↑ Quinn, Mike. "Wild Olive Tortoise Beetle Physonota alutacea Boheman, 1854". Texas Beetle Information. Texas Entomology. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 Grandtner, Miroslav M. (2005). Elsevier's Dictionary of Trees 1. Elsevier. pp. 252–260. ISBN 978-0-444-51784-5.
  12. ↑ "Cordia dichotoma Forst. f.". Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Plant Growth Facilities. University of Connecticut. 2009-10-06. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  13. ↑ "Subordinate Taxa of Cordia L.". TROPICOS. Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Species Records of Cordia". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
  15. ↑ "Cordia". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 1 March 2010.