Cordia alliodora

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Lamiids
Ordo: Boraginales

Familia: Boraginaceae
Subfamilia: Cordioideae
Genus: Cordia
Species: Cordia alliodora
Name

Cordia alliodora (Ruiz & Pav.) Oken, 1841
Synonyms

Cerdana alliodora Ruiz & Pav.
Cerdana cujabensis Silva Manso ex A.DC.
Cordia alliodora f. albotomentosa Chodat & Hassl.
Cordia alliodora var. boliviana Chodat & Vischer
Cordia alliodora var. glabra A.DC.
Cordia alliodora var. tomentosa A.DC.
Cordia andina Chodat
Cordia cerdana Roem. & Schult.
Cordia chamissoniana var. complicata Chodat
Cordia cujabensis Silva Manso & Lhotzky ex Cham.
Cordia gerascanthus f. martinicensis Chodat
Cordia gerascanthus var. subcanescens A.DC.
Cordia goudotii Chodat
Cordia rusbyi Britton ex Rusby
Cordia velutina Mart.
Gerascanthus alliodorus (Ruiz & Pav.) M.Kuhlm. & Mattos
Gerascanthus cujabensis (Silva Manso & Lhotzky ex Cham.) Borhidi
Gerascanthus velutinus Fresen.
Lithocardium alliodorum (Ruiz & Pav.) Kuntze
Lithocardium cujabense (Silva Manso & Lhotzky ex Cham.) Kuntze
Varronia rusbyi (Britton ex Rusby) Borhidi
Varronia tuberosa Sessé & Moc.
Solanum mucronatum O.E.Schulz

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental:Southern America
Regional: Southern South America
Argentina Northwest, Paraguay
Regional: Northern South America
Belize, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
Regional: Western South America
Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru
Regional: Brazil
Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central
Regional: Central America
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá
Regional: Caribbean
Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Leeward Is., Puerto Rico, Southwest Caribbean, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is.
Continental:Northern America
Regional: Mexico
Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest
Introduced into:
Galápagos, Hawaii, Mauritius, Seychelles, Solomon Is.

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Oken, L. 1841. Allgemeine Naturgeschichte für alle Stände. Dritten Bandes zweyte Abtheilung oder Botanik, zweyten Bandes zweyte Abtheilung. Stamm- und Blüthenpflanzen. Pp. 703–1448. Hoffmann’sche Verlags-Buchhandlung, Stuttgart. BHL Reference page. : 3(2):1098.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Cordia alliodora in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2020 Oct 09. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Cordia alliodora. Published online. Accessed: Oct 09 2020. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2020. Cordia alliodora. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 09 Oct 2020.
Catalogue of Life: 2024 Annual Checklist
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Cordia alliodora in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 07-Oct-06.

Vernacular names
English: Spanish elm, Manjack
español: Cap Prieto
euskara: Cordia gerascanthus
français: cèdre Sam
Nederlands: Knoflookboom
português: Louro-amarelo

Cordia alliodora is a species of flowering tree in the borage family, Boraginaceae, that is native to the American tropics.[3] It is commonly known as Spanish elm, Ecuador laurel,[4] cypre[3] or salmwood.[3] It can reach 35 m in height.
Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1799 by Hipólito Ruiz López and José Antonio Pavón Jiménez, as Cerdana alliodora. In 1841, it was transferred to the genus Cordia by Lorenz Oken. (Cerdana is treated as a synonym of Cordia.)[2]

Among the synonyms of Cordia alliodora is Solanum mucronatum.[2] Solanum is placed in a different family from Cordia (Solanaceae rather than Boraginaceae).[5] Solanum mucronatum was described by Otto Eugen Schulz in 1909. In his description, Schulz expressed doubt that Solanum was the right genus.[6]
Uses

Cordia alliodora is one of several Cordia trees called bocote in Spanish and its wood, which has very little figure, is usually called freijo or jennywood along with that of Cordia goeldiana. The wood is used for boat decking, furniture, cabinetry, guitar/bass building by luthiers, and sometimes substitutes for mahogany or teak.
Environmental aspects

Outside of its indigenous range, Cordia alliodora has been identified as a problematic invasive species.[7] For example, a timber-focused planting program of the species in Vanuatu during the mid-1970s has over time proved disruptive to native ecosystems and communities. The species has been described as a severe environmental nuisance, as it has overtaken natural forests by multiplying at a faster rate than being harvested, and has become susceptible to outbreaks of a form of root rot known as Phellinus noxius.[8]
References

Linsky, J. (2014). "Cordia alliodora". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T56496514A56503971. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T56496514A56503971.en. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
"Cordia alliodora (Ruiz & Pav.) Oken". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
"Cordia alliodora". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
Mabberley, D.J. (1997). The plant book: A portable dictionary of the vascular plants. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-41421-0.
"Solanum L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
Schulz, Otto Eugen (1909). "Solanacearum genera nonnulla". In Urban, Ignaz (ed.). Symbolae Antillanae, seu, Fundamenta florae Indiae Occidentalis. Vol. 6. pp. 140–192. Retrieved 29 December 2023. "An haec planta re vera ad Solanum pertiniat?" (Does this plant really belong to Solanum?) p. 191
Edward, Ezekiel; Munishi, Pantaleo K. T.; Hulme, Philip E. (2009). "Relative Roles of Disturbance and Propagule Pressure on the Invasion of Humid Tropical Forest byCordia alliodora(Boraginaceae) in Tanzania". Biotropica. 41 (2): 171–178. Bibcode:2009Biotr..41..171E. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7429.2008.00474.x. ISSN 0006-3606.
Country report on the forestry invasive species situation in Vanuatu. Proceedings of the Asia-Pacific Forest Invasive Species Conference. Kunming, Yunnan Province, China 17–23 August 2003. http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/ae944e/ae944e0a.htm