Some authorities use Cordia alba as the correct name for this species (treated here as a synonym)[].
Writing around 1973, the authors of the Flora of Guatemala said that iIn various publications regarding the flora of Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies, this species has been wrongly called Cordia alba (Jacq.) Roem. & Schult., a name that should probably to be correctly applied to a species from another family[].

Common Name: Flore De Angel

General Information

Cordia dentata is a shrub or small trees growing up to 15 metres tall[]. Its bole is usually short, often crooked, with a light brown and scaly bark[]. The plant loses its leaves in a prolonged drought, but otherwise is evergreen[].
Harvested from the wild for its edible fruit and other uses, it is also sometimes grown in gardens, both for its ornamental flowers and its sweet edible fruits[, ].
Cordia dentata has a very wide distribution, large population, is not currently experiencing any major threats and no significant future threats have been identified.The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2019)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

, ,

Range

Northern S. America - Ecuador and Venezuela; C. America - Panama north to Mexico; Caribbean.

Habitat

Dry, sandy or rocky slopes and hills, damp or dry thickets or mixed forest; grassy plains and pastures, from sea level to elevations of 900 metres[].

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	10.00 m
Pollinators	Bees, Butterflies, Insects
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Prefers a moist but freely draining loam[].
An excellent plant for using as a screen or background filler[].
The exquisite white or pale yellow flowers are sweetly scented[].

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw[, , ]. The fruits are filled with a sweet, sticky pulp[]. The white, transparent flesh is mucilaginous and extremely sweet[]. The oblong fruit is up to 16mm long[].

Medicinal

The flowers are diaphoretic, emollient, pectoral and sudorific[, ]. A decoction is used to induce perspiration[, ].

The leaves and flowers are reported to have emollient properties and to be used for treating affections of the chest[, ].

The plant (part not specified) has been used as a diuretic[].

A charcoal made from the wood was the main ingredient of a preparation which at one time was much used for treating affections of the stomach[, ].

Other Uses

The fruits are used to coagulate the dye indigo[, ].

The mucilaginous fruit pulp is used as an adhesive on paper and for fastening cigar wrappers[, ].

The stems are chewed in order to clean the teeth and maintain healthy gums[].

The yellow wood is strong and hard[]. It is used for carpentry, fence posts etc[, , ].
The wood is used for fuel[].

Propagation

Seed - very slow to germinate, the process can be sped up if the seed is scarified by lightly abrading the seedcoat to allow easier ingress of water[].

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