Cordia
| Cordia | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Cordia boissieri in bloom | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Boraginales |
| Family: | Boraginaceae |
| Subfamily: | Cordioideae |
| Genus: |
Cordia L. |
| Type species | |
|
Cordia myxa L. |
|
| Species | |
|
See text |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Cerdana Ruiz & Pav. |
|
See text
Cerdana Ruiz & Pav.
Cordiada Vell.
Cordiopsis Desv.
Lithocardium Kuntze
Rhabdocalyx Lindl.
Sebesten Adans.
Sebestena Boehm.
Cordia is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It contains about 300 species of shrubs and trees, that are found worldwide, mostly in warmer regions. Many of the species are commonly called manjack, while bocote may refer to several Central American species in Spanish. The generic name honours German botanist and pharmacist Valerius Cordus (1515-1544). Like most other Boraginaceae, the majority have trichomes (hairs) on the leaves.
The taxonomy of Cordia is complex and controversial. Gottschling et al. (2005) say this is partly due to "extraordinarily high intraspecific variability" in some groups of species, making identification difficult, and partly due to new taxa having been "airily described on the basis of poorly preserved herbarium specimens".
Cordia species are used as food plants by the caterpillars of some Lepidoptera species, such as Endoclita malabaricus, Bucculatrix caribbea, and Bucculatrix cordiaella. The Wild Olive Tortoise Beetle (Physonota alutacea) feeds on C. boissieri, C. dentata, C. inermis, and C. macrostachya.
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