Cordia somaliensis

Boraginaceae
Height

4.00 m

Habit

Shrub

Growth Rate

None Recorded

Cultivation Status

Wild

Cordia somaliensis is a scrambling shrub or a bushy tree with several stems from the base; it usually grows around 1.8 - 6 metres tall.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food.
Cordia somaliensis has a large extent of occurrence but there is significant decline of the species' coastal dune habitat. In Kenya this is mainly due to the development of tourist facilities whilst in Somalia, the main threat is shifting sands and erosion coupled with increasing human pressure and increasing aridity in the region. It is inferred that over the last three generations there has been a decline in population size of between 30 - 40% based on the rate of habitat loss over the species range. The threat of decline is considerably greater in Kenya than Somalia. The plant is classified as 'Vulnerable' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2020).

Northeast Africa - central Somalia to eastern Kenya.

Known Hazards

None

Habitat

Sandy open areas near the high-tide mark, dunes, thickets on coral rag and other coastal bushland, also open Acacia scrub on red sandy soils; at elevations up to 150 metres.

Cultivation Status

Wild

Cultivation Details

The sweet-scented flowers open in the evening.

Edible Uses

Fruit - Pulpy.
The orange, ovoid-conic fruit is around 10 - 17mm long including the long-drawn-out acute beak.

Medicinal

None known

Agroforestry Uses

None Recorded

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -

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