''Cordia platythyrsa'' or West African cordia is a tall,
flowering tree in the borage family (
Boraginaceae), native to western and central Africa. Its soft wood is often used for furniture or other carpentry. It is considered "vulnerable" as it is threatened by logging.
Common names include ebe or mukumari (
Cameroon,
Gabon), omo (
Nigeria), and tweneboa (
Ghana).
Range
West african cordia is native to
Cameroon,
Congo
Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa:
* Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...
,
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
,
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
,
Gabon,
the Gambia,
Ghana,
Guinea
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
,
Guinea Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...
,
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
,
Nigeria,
Senegal,
Sierra Leone,
Togo, and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Description and uses
The tree grows to over 30 m in height and 1 m in diameter. The wood is pale yellow to almost white in color and used mainly for furniture making, interior joinery, domestic items, canoes, and musical instruments. It has low density (0.5 g/cm) and is very soft (Monnin hardness 1.3),
with a spongy, fibrous texture.
Status
The species is classified as vulnerable by the
IUCN Red List of Threatened species
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...
, due to potential logging threats.
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]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5169966
platythyrsa
Trees of Africa
Taxa named by John Gilbert Baker