Cordia sinensis Lam.

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

Boraginaceae, E. S. Martins (Trichodesma by R. K. Brummit). Flora Zambesiaca 7:4. 1990

Morphology General Habit

A shrub usually up to 4 m. or a bushy tree up to 8 m. high; branchlets angular, fulvous-tomentellous to subglabrous when young, glabrescent, often cream becoming grey or brown and lenticellate with age.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves opposite, subopposite or alternate; petiole 0.3–1.0(1.5) cm. long usually with some long pale hairs; lamina 3–9 x 1.0–4.5 cm., narrowly obovate to elliptic, rarely oblanceolate, with minute bulbous-based appressed or slightly ascending hairs and sometimes with scattered white bristles to subglabrous but often dotted with groups of cystoliths above, with minute bulbous-based hairs appressed in all directions or pubescent to subglabrous but usually with dense long hairs on the axils of the secondary nerves and along the midrib (sometimes not much evident) below, obtuse to rounded and sometimes retuse at apex, acute to obtuse and often slightly asymmetrical at base, margins entire to crenate or serrate to the upper half, papery to leathery, greyish-green or yellowish-green, with 5–7 secondary nerves on each side of the midrib.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Panicle 1.5–6.0 cm. long, little-branched, terminal or axillary; rhachis and branches minutely fulvous-tomentose with scattered long pale hairs to pubescent, often glabrescent.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers male on pedicels 0.5–1.5 mm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx 4–5 mm. long, narrowly campanulate, irregularly 3–5-toothed, pubescent or minutely fulvous-tomentose outside, strigose inside.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla white, glabrous; tube 2.5–4.0 mm. long, cylindrical; lobes 4, 3.0–4.0 x 1.2–2.0 mm., oblong to narrowly obovate, rounded at apex, reflexed.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens 4, inserted at the corolla-throat; filaments 2–3 mm. long, glabrous; anthers c. 1.5 mm. long, oblong.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary c. 2 mm. long, ovoid, glabrous; style 5–7 mm. long, first-forked at 2.0–2.5 mm. and with stigmatic branches 2–3 mm. long, clavate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit 12–15 x 8–11 mm., ovoid or ellipsoid, apiculate, glabrous, yellow, orange or reddish when ripe, surrounded at the lower third by the widely enlarged, usually cream, campanulate calyx; mesocarp fleshy; pyrene c. 8 x 7 mm., ± rhomboidal or quadrangular in cross section, 1–3 seeded.

Boraginaceae, B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1991

Morphology General Habit

Tangled shrub or usually a spreading often several-stemmed tree 3–10(–12) m. tall; young stems ridged, slightly pubescent; young bark pale, smooth but later brownish grey or yellowish brown to almost black, densely longitudinally fissured and very rough; innovations often ± velvety, fawn-coloured.

Morphology Leaves

Leaf-blades typically narrowly oblong-elliptic or oblanceolate to oblanceolate-obovate, mostly rather longer than in species 16, 1.5–11 cm. long, 0.6–4 cm. wide, rounded at the apex, rounded to cuneate at the base, entire or crenate near apex or rarely crenate all round, glabrous to pubescent and sometimes slightly scabrid above, nearly always with longer hairs in the nerve-axils and along the midrib beneath; occasionally somewhat asperous on both surfaces; petiole distinctly developed, up to 1.3(–1.8) cm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers sweet-scented in rather laxer panicles than in species 16, 6.5 × 7 cm.; peduncles and secondary axes up to 1.5–3 cm. long; pedicels 2 mm. long. Female:corolla-lobes 3–4 mm. long, 1.3–1.5 mm. wide; filaments 2.2 mm. long; style 2.5 mm. long with branches 2 mm. long and stigmatic branches 2–4 mm. long. Male:corolla-lobes oblong, 4.5 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide; filaments exserted 3.5 mm.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx glabrous to pubescent outside; tube cylindric-campanulate, 4–4.2 mm. long including 0.5–1 mm. long low rounded lobes.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla creamy white; tube 5 mm. long.

sex Male

Male:corolla-lobes oblong, 4.5 mm. long, 1.5 mm. wide; filaments exserted 3.5 mm.

sex Female

Female:corolla-lobes 3–4 mm. long, 1.3–1.5 mm. wide; filaments 2.2 mm. long; style 2.5 mm. long with branches 2 mm. long and stigmatic branches 2–4 mm. long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit yellow, orange or bright red, 0.7–1.3 cm. long, 7–9 mm. wide, mucilaginous and edible.

Figures

Fig. 4/8, 9, p.16.

Habitat

Mainly riverine, in tree belt or tangled scrub, sometimes in scrub and open thorn-bush of Acacia, Commiphora, etc. subject to inundation, ground-water forest; 0–1800 m.

Distribution

K1 K2 K4 K6 K7 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 T7 T8 U2

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 12 m tall; young branchlets ± densely pubescent

Morphology Leaves

Leaves opposite or subopposite, rarely alternate; blade oblanceolate-oblong or oblong, 1.8–11.8 x 0.5–4 cm, attenuate to cuneate at the base, obtuse to rounded or rarely notched at the apex, entire to coarsely crenate, ± densely pubescent on both surfaces, not or only slightly scabrid, practically always with tufts of long soft hairs in the axils beween midrib and main lateral veins beneath; petiole 3–18 mm long

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers scented, bisexual or sometimes functionally unisexual, in lax ± pubescent inflorescences

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Calyx tubular-campanulate, 3–5.5 mm long, ± densely pubescent outside, 3–5(–6)-lobed

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla whitish or cream; tube 4.5–5 mm long; lobes 4(–5)

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens 4(–5); male flowers with rudimentary pistillode

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style

Style with 0.5–2.5 mm long stigmatic branches

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits Fruiting calyx

Fruiting calyx funnel- or cup-shaped, 3–4.9 x 5.2 x 8.5 mm

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Drupe orange when ripe, ovoid or narrowly ovoid, tapering towards apex, 7–10 x 5.6–7.9 mm.

Distribution

N2, 3; C2; S2, 3 Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, extending to western and southern tropical Africa, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, India and Sri Lanka

Ecology

Altitude range 0–700 m.

Vernacular

Mareer, mareer docol (Somali).

Note

Often cultivated and naturalised and the species has obviously attained its area of distribution partly due to man.

Boraginaceae, H. Heine. Flora of West Tropical Africa 2. 1963

Morphology General Habit

A shrub or small tree up to 16 ft.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

White flowers 1/4 in. long in rather small pubescent cymes

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Ovoid, pointed fruits on a saucer-shaped calyx.