Cordia dichotoma G.Forst., Boraginaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: po bu mu

English: Indian cherry, clammy cherry, cordia-tree, fragrant manjack, glueberry-tree, sebesten, sebesten plum

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Trees 3-4 (-20) m tall. Petiole 2-5 cm; leaf blade ovate to broadly ovate or elliptic, 6-13 x 4-9 cm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous, base rounded to broadly cuneate, margin usually subundulate to undulate dentate, rarely entire, apex obtuse to mucronate. Inflorescences terminating leafy lateral branches, dichotomously branched into corymbose cymes, widely spaced, 5-8 cm wide. Flowers dimorphic, sessile. Calyx campanulate, 5-6 mm, 5-lobed; lobes unequal, triangular. Corolla white, ca. as long as calyx; lobes shorter than tube, margin somewhat undulate. Filaments of staminate flowers ca. 3.5 mm, filaments of bisexual flowers 1-2 mm. Rudimentary pistil globose. Style united portion 1-1.5 mm, first branches ca. 1 mm, second branches 2-3 mm; stigma spatulate. Drupes yellow or reddish, subglobose, 1-1.5 cm in diameter, with sticky mesocarp, surrounded by persistent calyx" (Flora of China online).

"A tree to 10 m high or more; leaves ovate to oblong acute to acuminate, acute to subcordate at base, glabrous or sparsely puberulent, up to 20 cm long by 10 cm wide, shallow-toothed in distal part, or repand, or entire; petioles 1-5 cm long; flowers small, whitish, about 8 mm long, corolla 4-6-lobed; calyx truncate; fruit ellipsoid, 1.5-2 cm long, with a thin creamy or pink skin and pulp; pyrene 1-seeded" (Stone, 1970; p. 498).

Habitat/ecology:  In China (native), "open woods on slopes, mountain streamsides"  (Flora of China online).

Propagation:  Seed, probably spread by birds.

Native range:  "Northern India to Southeast Asia, southern China, and Taiwan, as well as in northeastern Australia and on the island of New Caledonia"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 198).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Saipan	Saipan Island	native	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 58)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hatuta'a (Hatutu) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Voucher cited: J.-C. Thibault 1103 (PAP) Cultivée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2013)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2013) Cultivée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 498)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 229)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Herbarium Pacificum Staff (1996) (p. 3) Voucher cited: E. Funk s.n. (BISH) Naturalized
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, SE Xizang, Yunnan.
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 227) In forests.
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 28) Critically endangered
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) Open woods on slopes, mountain streamsides.
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced invasive	Kueffer, C./Mauremootoo, J. (2004) (pp. 7, 8)

Comments:  Reported as possibly an invasive plant in the Hawaiian Islands per Staples et al., 2000.

Control:  If you know of control methods for Cordia dichotoma, please let us know.