Cordia alliodora (Ruiz & Pavon) Oken, Boraginaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: cypre, Ecuador laurel, laurel, salmwood, Spanish elm

French: bois de Chypre, pardillo

Samoan: kotia

Spanish: ajo ajo, alatrique, canalete, capá, laurel blanco, laurel negro

Tongan: kotia

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Tree to 12 m high (to 20 m where indigenous), cultivated at low elevation; petioles 1-3 cm long; leaf blades oblong or lanceolate to elliptic, 10-20 x 3-8 cm, stellate-pilose or glabrate on both surfaces; inflorescences loosely branched, 10-30 cm across; calyx cylindric, 4-6 mm long, densely stellate-tomentose, with 10 prominent ribs; corolla white, drying brown, marcescent, the lobes 5-7 mm long; fruit cylindric, about 5 mm long, enveloped by the persistent corolla and calyx tube." (Smith, 1991; p. 154).

Habitat/ecology:  Lowland to highland forests (0-1500 m) in its native habitat (Berry et al., 1997; p. 532).

Propagation:  Wind-dispersed seeds.

Native range:  Central America

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Falanruw, Marjorie (1999) (pp. 4, 8) In species trial plot.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced	Smith, Albert C. (1991) (p. 154) Voucher cited: DA 16426
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1969) (voucher ID: BISH 34226) Taxon name on voucher: Cordia alliodora (Ruiz & Pavon) Oken
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Savai‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 6)
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 6)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 59)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	‘Eua Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 6)
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 6)
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Vava‘u Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2001) (p. 6)
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Malakula (Malekula) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1981) (voucher ID: BISH 628720) Taxon name on voucher: Cordia alliodora (Ruiz & Pavon) Oken
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Malakula (Malekula) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1981) (voucher ID: BISH 1002380) Taxon name on voucher: Cordia alliodora (Ruiz & Pavon) Oken
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Vanuatu (Republic of)		Tolfts, Andrew (1997)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Comments:  Introduced as a forestry tree to Vanuatu, it is now invading adjacent land and shows every sign of becoming a serious problem (Tolfts, 1997).

Quite invasive in Tonga, particularly on the island of ‘Eua where it was introduced as a timber tree (Space & Flynn, 2001).

Introduced as a possible timber tree to Yap and possibly other islands in Micronesia (Space & Falanruw, 1999).

Being raised in the forestry watershed nursery in Vailima, Upolu, Samoa and naturalized specimens seen there as well as invading from forest plantings (Space & Flynn, 2002).

Control:  Difficult, as plants sprout readily. Grubbing or treatment with herbicides is probably necessary.

Additional information:  Information on this species from "Silvics of North American", USDA Agriculture Handbook 654.
Information from the World Agroforestry Centre's AgroForestryTree Database.

Additional online information about Cordia alliodora is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Cordia alliodora may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Berry, Paul E./Holst, Bruce K./ Yatskievych, Kay. 1997. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana, vol. 3: Aralaceae-Cactaceae. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis. .

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1969. Voucher specimen #BISH 34226 (Koroivebau, D. 16426).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1981. Voucher specimen #BISH 628720 (Mueller-Dombois, D. 81120505).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1981. Voucher specimen #BISH 1002380 (D.Mueller-Dombois 81120505).

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2000. Preliminary review of the invasive plants in the Pacific islands (SPREP Member Countries). In: Sherley, G. (tech. ed.). Invasive species in the Pacific: A technical review and draft regional strategy. South Pacific Regional Environment Programme, Samoa. 190 pp.

Smith, Albert C. 1991. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 5. 626 pp.

Soria, M./Taylor, U./Tye, A./Wilkenson, S. R. 2002. Identificación y manajo de malezas en las isles Galapágos. Fundación Charles Darwin, Parque Nacional Galapágos. 69 pp.

Space, James C./Falanruw, Marjorie. 1999. Observations on invasive plant species in Micronesia. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. Report to the Pacific Islands Committee, Council of Western State Foresters. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 32 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2001. Report to the Kingdom of Tonga on invasive plant species of environmental concern.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 78 pp.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of Samoa on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 83 pp.

Tolfts, Andrew. 1997. Cordia alliodora: the best laid plans... Aliens 6 (1997): 12-13.

U. S. Government. 2006. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.