Boraginaceae
Cordia

Cordia suckertii Chiov.

First published in Atti Soc. Naturalisti Mat. Modena 66: 13 (1934)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is E. Ethiopia to Central Somalia. It is a shrub or tree and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

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: threatened. Confidence: low confidence
[AERP]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/35167/9915854

Conservation
NT - near threatened
[IUCN]

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

Type
C2, between “Bulo Burti” and “El Mocoile”, Suckert 61 (FT holo., K iso.)
Morphology General Habit
Shrub or small tree up to 6 m tall; young branchlets densely scabrid pubescent
Morphology Leaves
Leaves alternate; blade ovate, elliptic or oblong, 2–5.7 x 0.7–3 cm, rounded, cuneate or truncate at the base, rounded or emarginate at the apex, entire or slightly undulate, scabrid with medifixed spreading hairs on both surfaces; petiole 2–6 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers bisexual, homostylous, solitary or few together
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx tubular, leathery, 14–23 mm long, densely scabrid pubescent outside, c. 2–3-lobed
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla deep red or orange red; tube rigid, 17–35 mm long; lobes 7–10
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens 7–10
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style with united part 21–38 mm long, with stigmatic lobes less than 1 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruit a nut, 16–25 x 15–18 mm, narrowly ovoid to globose, completely enclosed by the leathery calyx; fruit wall very hard.
Distribution
C1, 2; E Ethiopia
Ecology
Altitude range 200–300 m.
Vernacular
Cuddo, oddo, uddo (Somali).
Note
A more extensive use of the species as a food plant would be made difficult by the extreme hardness of the nuts (they are traditionally crushed between big stones) and also by the relatively small amount of seed they contain.
[FSOM]

Uses

Use
The nuts of C. suckertii are much appreciated as food in central Somalia, and the contents of protein and fat are well comparable with those found in, for example, ground nuts and cashew nuts (Warfa, op. cit.: 55, 1988). C. suckertii is also a potential ornamental plant for arid areas.
[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