Boraginaceae
Cordia

Cordia obovata Balf.f.

First published in Proc. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh 12: 80 (1883)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is NE. Somalia, Socotra, Oman. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/30413/9546328

Conservation
NT - near threatened
[IUCN]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Shrub or small tree up to 4 m tall; young branchlets hispid
Morphology Leaves
Leaves alternate; blade elliptic to obovate or obovate-oblong, 3–7.5 x 1.5–3.8 cm, cuneate at the base, obtuse, subtruncate or rarely subacute at the apex, dentate or crenate in upper half, slightly scabrid above, ± sparsely pubescent beneath; lateral veins not reaching leaf margin; petiole 3–17 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers apparently functionally unisexual (only female ones seen), in dense few-flowered glabrescent inflorescences
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx tubular-campanulate, c. 5 mm long, smooth, densely tomentose outside, 3–4-lobed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla cream; tube 5.5–6 mm long; lobes 4
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Staminodes
Staminodes 4, slightly exserted
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style with c. 4 mm long stigmatic branches
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits Fruiting calyx
Fruiting calyx cup-shaped, 4–5.6 x 5–9 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Drupe orange when ripe, ovoid to subglobose, 7–11 x 6–8 mm.
Distribution
N3; Socotra, Oman
Ecology
Altitude range 450–1050 m.
Vernacular
Mareer docol (Somali).
[FSOM]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0