Cordia

The pantropic genus Cordia (Boraginaceae) comprises more than 250 species of trees and shrubs, the majority native to the Neotropics. ¹³ Most species are limited to a rather small range, but a few, such as C. alliodora, are widely distributed. While flowers in most species are small and inconspicuous, white or greenish, there are a few species with relatively large (~5 cm), vermilion (C. dodecandra, C. sebastana), yellow (C. dentata), or white flowers (C. boissieri); several Mexican species of the section Gerascanthus produce masses of white flowers during the dry season when nearly leafless and are thus quite conspicuous and decorative (C. gerascanthus, C. globulifera, C. morelana, and C. sonorae). ⁸ Only C. dodecandra, C. sebestana, and C. boissieri are commonly cultivated in the southern U.S. and Mexico. ¹² Color photographs of cultivated species can be found in Reference 12.