Cordia laevigata
Lam.
Boraginaceae
Cordia elliptica Sieber ex Griseb.
Cordia nitida Vahl ex H.West
Gerascanthus laevigatus (Lam.) Borhidi
Hymenesthes nitida (Vahl) Miers
Common Name: Clam Cherry
Tree growing at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, Florida, USA
Photograph by: David Stang
General Information
Cordia laevigata can be a shrub, or a tree with a dense, rounded crown. Usually growing 4 - 8 metres tall, it is reported to sometimes reach 20 metres, whilst at other times it is a shrub only a few metres tall. It can be evergreen or deciduous according to the climate. The bole can be 30cm in diameter[
447- Title
- Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
- Publication
-
- Author
- Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H.
- Publisher
- USDA, Forest Service; Washington.
- Year
- 1964
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
].
The plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use of its wood. It makes an attractive ornamental in cultivation[
447- Title
- Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
- Publication
-
- Author
- Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H.
- Publisher
- USDA, Forest Service; Washington.
- Year
- 1964
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
].
Cordia laevigata has quite a wide range in the Caribbean and C. America but its suitable habitat is threatened by urban development, tourism and recreation activities. The extent of this activity has lead to the species being considered locally as 'Critically Endangered' on some of the smaller Caribbean islands, for example, the Cayman Islands. The species is afforded little protection in the wild. Globally, the plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2014)[
338- Title
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.iucnredlist.org/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
].
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
Range
C. America - Panama; Caribbean - Virgin Islands to Jamaica and Haiti.
Habitat
Thickets and forests in coastal and limestone regions; at elevations up to 500 metres[
338- Title
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Publication
-
- Author
-
- Website
- http://www.iucnredlist.org/
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 0
- ISBN
-
- Description
- A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
,
447- Title
- Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
- Publication
-
- Author
- Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H.
- Publisher
- USDA, Forest Service; Washington.
- Year
- 1964
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
].
Properties
| Conservation Status | Least Concern |
| Other Uses Rating |  |
| Habit | Semi-deciduous Tree |
| Height | 7.00 m |
| Pollinators | Bees |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
The plant flowers and produces fruit at irregular periods through the year, frequently producing quantities of fruit[
447- Title
- Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
- Publication
-
- Author
- Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H.
- Publisher
- USDA, Forest Service; Washington.
- Year
- 1964
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
].
Edible Uses
Although we have seen no specific information for this species, the fruits of most Cordia species are comprised of a thin to fairly thick layer of pulpy, sweetish-tasting flesh surrounding a single seed and are more or less edible[
200- Title
- The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
- Publication
-
- Author
- Huxley. A.
- Publisher
- MacMillan Press
- Year
- 1992
- ISBN
- 0-333-47494-5
- Description
- Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
,
422- Title
- Fruits of the Guianan Flora
- Publication
-
- Author
- van Roosmalen. M.G.M.
- Publisher
- Institute of Systematic Boyany, Utrecht University; Netherlands.
- Year
- 1985
- ISBN
- 90-9000988-4
- Description
- Terse descriptions of over 1,700 species from the Guianas that bear fruits - not necessarily edible! Often mentions if the fruit is edible, plus gives brief description of habit and habitat.
], (though some are known to cause gastric disturbances).
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
The wood is used chiefly for posts[
447- Title
- Common Trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
- Publication
-
- Author
- Little E.L.; Wadsworth F.H.
- Publisher
- USDA, Forest Service; Washington.
- Year
- 1964
- ISBN
-
- Description
- Contains detailed information, and usually an illustration, on 250 tree species, including both native and exotic species.
].
The wood of most species in this genus is hard and, where the plants grow large enough, the wood is often harvested at least locally for use in construction etc and also for making charcoal[
1902- Title
- Two new species of Cordia L. (Boraginaceae) from Madagascar
- Publication
- Adansonia series 3, 23(2), 289-295, 2001
- Author
- Miller J.S.
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 2001
- ISBN
-
- Description
-
].
Propagation
Seed -
If you have any useful information about this plant, please leave a comment. Comments have to be approved before they are shown here.
Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
