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Cordia dichotoma
Boraginaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Cordia dichotoma

Cordia dichotoma

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

The fruits are used to stupefy fish[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthMedium

A tree of tropical and subtropical regions, found at elevations from sea level to 1,500 metres[2]. It grows in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the range 250 - 3,000 mm[2]. In areas with annual rainfall less than 500 mm, it thrives along streams or depressions where moisture is available[2]. Thrives on a range of soils, but prefers deep moist sandy loams[2, 1]. When the tree reaches pole stage it prefers complete overhead light, but seedlings and saplings can withstand a fair amount of shade[2]. The tree has escaped from cultivation in some areas and concerns have been raised, especially in Hawaii, that it could become invasive[3]. Young seedlings are frost tender and also suffer from exposure to hot sun. They are susceptible to browsing and fire, but recover appreciably from these injuries[2]. The tree coppices and pollards well[2] On good sites the trees reach a height of 4 metres in 4 years and a diameter of over 20 cm in 8 - 9 years[2].

Propagation

Seed - sow direct into containers, beds or trays[2]. Germination starts in about 3 - 4 weeks and is complete in 6 weeks[2]. The germination process can be sped up if the seed is first scarified by lightly abrading the seedcoat to allow easier ingress of water[4]. Seedlings should be potted up as soon as the first pair of true leaves have formed[2]. At lower altitudes, seedlings large enough to plant out can be obtained after 3 - 4 months in the nursery, but at higher altitudes, 9 - 12 months are needed[2]. Germination is epigeous - 1 or 2 seedlings may appear from 1 stone[2]. Seeds can store for at least a year in airtight containers[2]. Raising plants from stumps has been carried out successfully. The stumps should be 8 - 13 mm thick at the root collar, with about 4 cm stem and 20 - 25 cm root[2]. Such plants should be raised in beds for 12 - 15 months before stumping. Shading should be for only 1 week after seedlings have been pricked out, otherwise seedlings should have full light[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Cordia+dichotoma>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  2. [2]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  3. [3]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
  4. [4]Tropical and Subtropical Trees - A Worldwide Encyclopaedic Guide. — Barwick. M. · Thames & Hudson, London · 2004 · ISBN 0-500-51181-0 ↩︎A superb book, very concise and well written, giving a wealth of information on 400 or more species including descriptions, habitat, cultivation details and plant uses. A wealth of colour photographs bring each plant vividly to life.
  5. [5]Flowers of India — http://www.flowersofindia.net/ ↩︎A wed site of native Indian plants, plus cultivated and naturalized species. It has good quality photos and terse details on more than 3,000 species and cultivars.
  6. [6]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  7. [7]Guide to the Trees of Papua New Guinea — Conn. B.J. & Damas. K.Q. · http://www.pngplants.org/PNGtrees/ ↩︎An Internet site giving good descriptions of the trees of Papua New Guinea.
  8. [8]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  9. [9]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  10. [10]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  11. [11]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  12. [12]Economic Products of India. Volume 1. — Watt. G. · Government of India: Calcutta. · 1883 ↩︎Although over 100 years old, it still contains a wealth of information on useful plants. Many of the botanical names have been changed since then, so you have to check for up to date names. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.
  13. [13]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  14. [14]Flora of Pakistan — http://www.efloras.org ↩︎As of 2006, there is not much information on habitats available, but it is being developed and promises to be an excellent resource.
  15. [15]Pharmacographia Indica — Dymock W.; Warden C.J.H.; Hooper D. · Education Society's Press, Byculla; Mombai. · 1890 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Information on the principal plant medicines encountered in India in the 19th century.
  16. [16]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  17. [17]The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. — Burkil. H. M. · Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. · 1985 - 2004 ↩︎Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/
  18. [18]Traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of the medicinal species of the genus Cordia (Boraginaceae) — Oza M.J. & Kulkarni Y.A. · 2017 · http://10.1111/jphp.12715 ↩︎
  19. [19]CosIng — http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/ ↩︎CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.