Cordia

''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

*''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'' – (endemic to the Galápagos Islands)
*''Cordia lutea'' – 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'' (the clammy cherry) has been placed in the "''Cordia myxa'' complex", or treated as a synonym for ''Cordia dichotoma''.
*'' Cordia platythyrsa'' Baker – West African cordia
*''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
*'' Cordia trichotoma'' (Vell.) Arráb. ex Steud.

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 members of this genus 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(Pe̍h-ōe-jī: 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 tonewoods for making the backs and sides of high-end acoustic guitars such as the Richard Thompson signature model from Lowden. Similarly, drums are made from '' C. abyssinica'', '' C. millenii'', and '' C. platythyrsa'' due to the resonance of the wood.

Smoking

Cordia leaves can be dried and used to smoke marijuana with.

Gallery

Image:Cordia sinensis.jpg, ''C. sinensis'' foliage and fruit.
Image:Cordia sinensis trees.jpg, ''C. sinensis'' trees.
Image:Cordia_goetzei_@_Lake_Manyara_NP_HQ.JPG, Fruits of ''Cordia goetzei''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q716132

Fruit vegetables
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Boraginaceae genera