Cordia rufescens
A.DC.
Boraginaceae
Cordia piauhiensis Fresen.
Gerascanthus rufescens (A.DC.) Borhidi
Lithocardium piauhiense (Fresen.) Kuntze
Lithocardium rufescens Kuntze
Macria brasiliensis Ten. ex Pasq.
Macria callipticantha Ten.
Macria calliptychantha Ces.
Common Name:
General Information
Cordia rufescens is a shrub or a small tree growing up to 5 metres tall.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine.
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
Range
S. America - northern and eastern Brazil from Minas Gerais northwards
Habitat
Savannah and dry forests.
Properties
| Medicinal Rating |  |
| Habit | Shrub |
| Height | 3.00 m |
| Cultivation Status | Wild |
Cultivation Details
Not known
Edible Uses
The fruit is a drupe, white at maturity, glabrous, surrounded by the slightly accrescent, persistent, cup-shaped calyx, mesocarp mucilaginous the pyrene symmetrical, 7 - 9mm in diameter.
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
The plant is used as an abortifacient and anti-inflammatory, as well as in the treatment of dysmenorrhoea[
1905- Title
- Traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacology of the medicinal species of the genus Cordia (Boraginaceae)
- Publication
- Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 69 (2017), pp. 755-789
- Author
- Oza M.J. & Kulkarni Y.A.
- Website
- http://10.1111/jphp.12715
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 2017
- ISBN
-
- Description
-
].
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
