Cordia platythyrsa explained

Cordia platythyrsa or West African cordia is a tall, flowering tree in the borage family (Boraginaceae), native to western and central Africa. Its soft wood is often used for furniture or other carpentry. It is considered "vulnerable" as it is threatened by logging.

Common names include ebe or mukumari (Cameroon, Gabon), omo (Nigeria), and tweneboa (Ghana).

Range

West african cordia is native to Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[1]

Description and uses

The tree grows to over 30 m in height and 1 m in diameter.[2] The wood is pale yellow to almost white in color and used mainly for furniture making, interior joinery, domestic items, canoes, and musical instruments. It has low density (0.5 g/cm) and is very soft (Monnin hardness 1.3),[3] with a spongy, fibrous texture.

Status

The species is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened species, due to potential logging threats.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cordia platythyrsa . 7 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111015131814/http://www.thewoodexplorer.com/maindata/we334.html . 15 October 2011 . dead . The Wood Explorer .
  2. Web site: Cordia platythyrsa . 7 April 2012 . https://archive.today/20240525210733/https://www.webcitation.org/66k0VeKhv?url=http://plants.jstor.org/upwta/1_572 . 25 May 2024 . live . JSTOR Plant Science .
  3. Web site: Cordia d'Afrique . 7 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120509190349/http://tropix.cirad.fr/africa/CORDIA_D_AFRIQUE.pdf . 9 May 2012 . dead . TROPIX .