Cinnamomum verum
Cinnamomum verum is a slow-growing very ornamental evergreen tree that reaches a height of around 7 - 18 metres in the wild.
In an unharvested state, the bole is stout, 30 - 60cm in diameter.
Under cultivation, the continual removal of shoots by cropping almost to ground level results in the formation of a dense bush with a number of leafy coppiced shoots of 2 - 2.5 metres in height.
The plant is widely cultivated in Tropical areas for its bark which is used as a food flavouring. One of the earliest recorded spices, with records to show it was in use in China 5,000 years ago.
Citrus aurantiifolia
Lime is a small, densely and irregularly branched evergreen tree growing up to 5 metres tall.
Its twigs are armed with short, stiff, sharp spines.
Widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical areas, especially the West Indies, Mexico, Florida, Egypt and southeast Asia, for its edible fruit.
Everyday ingredient in southeast Asian food, grown in gardens and commercially.
Citrus sinensis
Sweet orange is a small, shallow-rooted evergreen shrub or tree growing about 6 - 13 metres tall with an enclosed conical top and mostly spiny branches.
Very well-known fruit, widely available worldwide. Commonly cultivated for its fruit in warm temperate, subtropical and tropical zones.
Prefers prominent change in seasons, less suited to tropics, more as garden tree there; widely grown commercially in subtropics.
Cleome rutidosperma
Cleome rutidosperma is an erect to spreading, annual plant, widely branched from the base, it can grow 25 - 100cm tall.
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of edible leaves. It is sometimes cultivated for its leaves, and the leaves are sometimes sold in local markets.
Cocos nucifera
Coconut is a variable, single-stemmed, evergreen palm tree that can range in height from 2 metres up to 30 metres tall.
The unbranched stem is topped by a rosette of leaves that can each be 4.5 - 6 metres long.
The cylindrical stem can be 40cm in diameter, though up to 60cm at the base.
It is one of the most useful plants for humans, providing a wide range of foods and other commodities.
It is widely cultivated and harvested from the wild in coastal tropical areas, for its seed and a wide range of uses that can be made of the seed husks, leaves etc. There are many named forms.
It is also widely grown as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical area.
Commelina benghalensis
Commelina benghalensis is a herbaceous perennial plant, with long, creeping, succulent stems that can be 60 - 90cm long; and ascending, jointed branches, rooting where the nodes touch the ground. The plant can become annual in areas with colder winters or long dry seasons. The leaves are harvested from the wild for local consumption - in many areas they are viewed as a famine food and only eaten in times of scarcity. The plant also has local medicinal uses and is the source of a dye. The fresh plants are sold in Chinese herbalists in Malaysia.
Cordia africana
Cordia africana is an evergreen shrub or tree with a heavily branched, spreading, umbrella-shaped or rounded
crown. It usually grows 4 - 15 metres tall, but some specimens can be up to 30 metres.
The bole can be 60cm in diameter, but is often short and of poor form, especially in drier areas.
A multipurpose tree, providing food, medicines and materials for the local population. Often gathered from the wild, it is also cultivated for the timber, its edible berries, as shade tree in coffee plantations, as a medicinal plant and also for ornament.
Cordia africana has a very wide distribution, large population, is not currently experiencing any major threats and no significant future threats have been identified. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2020).
Cordia somaliensis
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).
Curcuma longa
Curcuma longa is an erect, strongly tillering, herbaceous, perennial plant growing about 1 metre tall from an underground rhizome. It has a short stem and 6 - 10 tufted leaves about 30 - 50cm long.
Turmeric is a very common dye plant and is also one of the most common flavourings used in Asian cuisine.
It is believed to have been first domesticated in South or Southeast Asia and is now widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions for its use as a spice, dye plant, medicinal plant etc.
