''Cordia sebestena'' is a shrubby tree in the borage family,

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order ...

, native to the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

tropics. It ranges from southern

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the

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and

the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

, southwards throughout

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and the

Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and ...

. Common names have included siricote or kopté (Mayan) in 19th Century northern Yucatán, scarlet cordia in Jamaica, and Geiger tree (after

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

wrecker John Geiger) in Florida.

Description

''Cordia sebestena'' grows to a maximum height of at maturity, with a nearly equal spread. The crown is round to vase-shaped. Branches tend to be somewhat drooping, and the tree is naturally multitrunked. When only a single trunk is allowed to develop, it can attain a diameter of . The dense, evergreen foliage consists of dark green, leathery,

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ovate Ovate may refer to: *Ovate (egg-shaped) leaves, tepals, or other botanical parts *Ovate, a type of prehistoric stone hand axe *Ovates, one of three ranks of membership in the Welsh Gorsedd *Vates In modern English, the nouns vates () and ovat ...

leaves, long, with wavy margins. These leaves are covered with small hairs, lending them a rough, "sandpapery" texture. Flowers are produced in clusters at branch ends throughout the year, particularly in the spring and summer. Flowers are wide, red-orange in color, tubular, flaring ( salverform) with 5–7 lobes, bearing 5–7 stamens of similar height. The species is

heterostylous Heterostyly is a unique form of polymorphism and herkogamy in flowers. In a heterostylous species, two or three morphological types of flowers, termed "morphs", exist in the population. On each individual plant, all flowers share the same morph. ...

and presumably

self-incompatible Self-incompatibility (SI) is a general name for several genetic mechanisms that prevent self-fertilization in sexually reproducing organisms, and thus encourage outcrossing and allogamy. It is contrasted with separation of sexes among individuals ...

. Pear-shaped fruits follow the flowers, averaging in length. Fruits are fragrant and edible, but not flavorful.

Cultivation

''Cordia sebestena'' is widely planted throughout the tropics as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

in gardens for its showy

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s. It is a slow-growing plant, and sheds enough leaves and fruit to require some upkeep. The wood is rather light in density, but branches are not prone to breakage. The tree should be pruned in its youth to establish a structure, as it is prone to low branching. Soil tolerance is fairly broad, provided the soil drains well. ''Cordia sebestena'' tolerates drought, but not frost. It is not particularly susceptible to pests and diseases, other than the geiger

tortoise beetle The Cassidinae (tortoise and leaf-mining beetles) are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or Chrysomelidae. The antennae arise close to each other and some members have the pronotal and elytral edges extended to the side and covering the legs so as ...

, which can cause occasional defoliation. This plant tolerates salt spray found near the ocean. It enjoys full sun, and can grow in a part-day sun situation as well. Its uses include: street tree, shade tree, even as a container subject in its youth. It is planted in traffic medians and parking lots, and is a useful seaside subject.

Gallery

File:Scarlet Cordia buds.jpg, Buds of Scarlet cordia File:Cordia sebestena (1) leaves and flowers.jpg, Leaves and flowers Image:Geiger Tree (Cordia sebestena) leaves in Hyderabad, AP W 269.jpg, Leaves, underside (

Hyderabad, India Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the '' de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern In ...

) Image:2013.06-406-015ap Geiger tree=scarlet cordia(Cordia sebestena(Boraginaceae) Dakar,SN sat01jun2013-1052h.jpg, Close-up of flower (

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

, Senegal) Image:Geiger Tree (Cordia sebestena) fruits in Hyderabad, AP W 270.jpg, Fruits (

) File:Cordia sebestena (2) trunk.jpg, Trunk of Cordia sebestena

References

USDA plant Classification Cordia sebestena

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3042521 sebestena Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Trees of the Caribbean Trees of Central America Flora of Florida Trees of Quintana Roo Trees of the Yucatán Peninsula Garden plants of North America Ornamental trees Drought-tolerant trees