''Cordia subcordata'' is a species of

flowering Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

tree in the borage family. It can be found growing in eastern Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, northern Australia and the Pacific Islands including Hawaii. The plant is known by a variety of names, including kou, beach cordia, sea trumpet, and kerosene wood.

Description

A mature kou tree grows to at maturity, but may be as tall as . It has ovate leaves that are and wide with short hairs on the upper surface.

Flowers and fruit

Blooming occurs throughout the year, but most kou flowers are produced in the spring. Each kou flower is funnel- or tube-shaped long and in diameter, made of orange petals and pale green

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s that form

cymes In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis ( ped ...

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

s. Kou trees produce fruit all year around. Their fruit are spherical long, brown, and woody when mature. Each fruit contains four or fewer seeds that are long. The fruit are buoyant and may be carried very far by ocean currents.

Distribution and habitat

''C. subcordata'' has a very wide range from the east coast of Africa east throughout tropical Asia and

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

, as far as Hawaii. This distribution arose from the special characteristics of its fruit, which allowed successful oceanic dispersal. Prior to 2001, ''C. subcordata'' was considered to be a Polynesian introduction to Hawaii by many authorities, but

subfossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

evidence from Makauwahi Cave in

Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...

indicates that it was an abundant species in Hawaiian lowland forests well before humans arrived, confirming its status as an indigenous species. The species is found along coasts at elevations from sea level to that receive of annual rainfall. They prefer neutral to

alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from the Arabic word , ) is a basic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a soluble base has a pH greater than 7.0. The a ...

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

s ( pH of 6.1 to 7.4), such as those originating from

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, clay, or sand. Allowable

soil texture Soil texture is a soil classification, classification instrument used both in the field and laboratory to determine soil classes based on their physical texture. Soil texture can be determined using qualitative methods such as texture by feel, and ...

s include sand, sandy

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

, loam, sandy clay loam, sandy clay, clay loam, and clay. It can also grow on the margins of rocky shores and mangrove swamps.

Conservation

Despite its very wide distribution, this species faces threats in parts of its range. During the late 19th century, herbivory by the kou moth ('' Ethmia nigroapicella'') nearly wiped out this species on the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

. It is thought to be highly endangered in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, only persisting at a small number of sites that are under pressure from development. Logging of mature trees to create carvings for the tourism industry is also thought to be a threat throughout much of

Papuasia Papuasia is a Level 2 botanical region defined in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in the Melanesia ecoregion of Oceania and Tropical Asia. It comprises th ...

. As a purely coastal tree, it may in addition potentially be threatened by storms and sea level rise.

Uses

The seeds are edible and have been eaten during famine. The wood of the tree has a

specific gravity Relative density, also called specific gravity, is a dimensionless quantity defined as the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for solids and liquids is nea ...

of 0.45, is soft, durable, easily worked, and resistant to termites. In

ancient Hawaii Ancient Hawaii is the period of Hawaiian history preceding the establishment in 1795 of the Kingdom of Hawaii by Kamehameha the Great. Traditionally, researchers estimated the first settlement of the Hawaiian islands as having occurred sporad ...

''kou'' wood was used to make ''umeke'' (bowls), utensils, and ''umeke lāau'' (large calabashes) because it did not impart a foul taste to food. ''Umeke lāau'' were 8–16 litres (2–4 gal) and used to store and ferment '' poi''. Kou wood burns readily as firewood, and this led to the nickname of "kerosene tree" in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. The flowers were used to make '' lei'', while a dye for '' kapa'' cloth and ''aho'' (fishing lines) was derived from the leaves.

Fijians Fijians () are a nation and ethnic group Indigenous peoples of Oceania, native to Fiji, who speak Fijian language, Fijian and English language, English and share a common history and culture. Fijians, or ''iTaukei'', are the major indigenous ...

obtain fibre to make baskets and garlands from its inner bark by soaking it in seawater. In the western

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

, in

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

, on Waya Island, and in

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

, it is used for carving. On New Ireland, its wood is always used for the ceremonial entrances to men's houses.Pawley, Andrew; Osmond, Meredith (eds). 2008
''The lexicon of Proto Oceanic: The culture and environment of ancestral Oceanic society''
. Volume 3
Plants
. Pacific Linguistics 599. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Australian National University.

Regional names

Other names for the species include ''kanawa'', ''tou'', ''mareer'', ''manjak'', snottygobbles, glueberry, and narrow-leafed bird lime tree. In Java and Madura, it is known as ''kalimasada'', ''purnamasada'', or ''pramasada''; Javanese folklore considers the tree to contain spiritual power. In the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands, officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands, is an island country west of the International Date Line and north of the equator in the Micronesia region of the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The territory consists of 29 c ...

it is known as ''kono''. In

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

, it is called ''nawanawa''.

Gallery

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q675926 subcordata Plants described in 1792 Asterids of Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Flora of Ashmore and Cartier Islands Flora of the Coral Sea Islands Territory Flora of Kenya Flora of Madagascar Flora of Mozambique Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Flora of Somalia Flora of Tanzania Flora of tropical Asia Least concern flora of Australia Least concern biota of Queensland Trees of Australia Trees of the Pacific Flora of Tonga Austronesian agriculture