CORDIA MIXA (LASURA, LASORA, INDIAN CHERRY, ASSYRIAN PLUM, LA COLLE SAVON, SEBASTIER)
CORDIA DICHOTOMA = CORDIA OBLIQUA (CLAMMY CHERRY, INDIAN CHERRY, ABRE A COLLE)
CORDIA COLLOCOCA (RED MANJACK, CANDELERO, MAPOU RIVYE)
CORDIA SULCATA (WHITE MANJACK, MUCILAGE MANJACK)
CORDIA BOISSIERI (ANACAHUITA, MEXICAN OLIVE, TEXAS OLIVE)
BORAGINACEAE
There are several hundred species of Cordia, primarily found in tropical and warmer climates.
They are often trees or shrubs with decorative flowers and sometimes edible fruits that are popular with birds.
Some species are used in traditional medicines.
The most widely cultivated species is Cordia mixa, which may be a species improved through cultivation or the result of crossing several wild species.
Cordia mixa is native to Asia (India, Pakistan) but is present in most warm regions: Asia, Middle East, Africa, West Indies, some Pacific islands.
It is often a small tree with a short, straight trunk and branches in all directions. In good conditions it can reach about ten meters (50 to 60 years). When conditions are poor (poor soil, prolonged drought) it is more of a bushy shrub.
The leaves are broad (10 to 15 cm), oval, alternate.
The white flowers are grouped in terminal inflorescences, there are generally male and female flowers on the same tree.
After fertilization the fruits appear in the form of a round drupe whose color varies from light yellow to brown, sometimes a little pink. The size of the fruits varies according to the varieties: there are varieties with small fruits (2 to 8 g) and others with large fruits (10 to 20 g).
The leaves, fruits and bark of cordia myxa are used in traditional medicine (especially in Asia but also in Africa).
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND PROPERTIES
FRUITS OF CORDIA MYXA LASURA OR ASSYRIAN PLUM
- The ripe fruits are edible, they contain a slightly sweet mucilaginous substance but without any particular flavor.
Average composition of the pulp of the ripe fruit:
water 75%, sugary carbohydrates 7%, pectin 5%, proteins 2%, minerals (mainly potassium but also phosphorus, iron and calcium), a small amount of vitamin C and phenolic substances, soluble fiber. - The fruits are also used before maturity, they then contain less sweet and mucilaginous substances and are closer to a vegetable, they are then bitter and are eaten after cooking or put in brine or preserved with vinegar.
- The pulp of the fruit is said to have hypotensive properties and is slightly diuretic.
Mucilages are anti-inflammatory, they soothe irritated mucous membranes and skin. They may have an expectorant effect.
The pulp of the fruit facilitates intestinal transit (laxative effect).
CORDIA MIXA LEAVES
The young leaves are edible but as they age they become firmer and astringent (presence of tannins) and more bitter (presence of other phenolic substances and alkaloids).
The leaves are a source of medicinal tannins that are anti-inflammatory, astringent: irritated, inflamed or ulcerated mucous membranes and skin; they have anti-diabetic properties (type 2 diabetes).
CORDIA MIXA SEEDS
The small almond contained in the seed is oleaginous and edible, its taste is close to that of a hazelnut
CORDIA MIXA BARK
The bark of the small branches of Cordia mixa contains medicinal tannins that can be used: anti-inflammatory and antibacterial, healing and drying of the mucous membranes.
CORDIA MIXA ROOTS
In Africa, a decoction of the roots is used to treat malaria (but I am not aware of any scientific studies on this use).
Cordia mixa is the subject of pharmacological studies, particularly in Asia: research and pharmacological evaluation of anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-parasitic and anti-malarial compounds.
USES
THE FRUIT OF CORDIA MIXA
This small fruit, popular with birds, is also popular with humans, but its mucilaginous and sticky consistency is not to everyone’s taste.
There are several ways to eat it:
- Before maturity, it is a green, acrid fruit that needs to be prepared in the form of pickled salt or after cooking in spicy oil, it can then be kept for some time. It can also be cooked like a vegetable in a pan.
The green fruit (i.e. before maturity) can be dried: after soaking for a few minutes in boiling water followed by drying and cooling, the fruit must then be pitted manually and then dried either in the sun or in the oven. Once completely dry (hard), they can be stored for several months and cooked as desired like a vegetable. - When it turns yellow and ripe, the stone and skin are removed from the fruit and you have to get used to its slightly sweet gelatinous consistency, without acidity and without any particular aroma. It is sometimes prepared as jam or mixed with a little honey.
The crushed ripe fruit can also be used to make a slightly alcoholic fermented drink.
The pulp of the fruit is a natural glue that can be used perfectly for gluing paper.
MEDICINAL USE OF CORDIA MYXA FRUIT
- Digestive disorders: the mucilage of the fruit is traditionally used to relieve gastric pain (gastritis, gastroduodenal ulcer) and combat constipation.
- Respiratory infections: Cordia mixa fruit is traditionally used in cases of bronchitis, persistent coughs, and tonsillitis.
The fruit of Cordia mixa is said to have a diuretic action and perhaps also a urinary antiseptic effect. - Skin diseases: a fruit pulp plaster can be made to “ripen” an abscess, to alleviate a fungal infection (ringworm), or to calm joint pain.
- The fruit, seed and leaves of Cordia mixa are used in Ayurvedic and Unani medicine in combination with other plants or plant extracts to treat many pathologies.
CORDIA MIXA LEAVES
The leaves can be eaten when very young, but livestock will eat them at any stage of maturity, including the dried leaves.
- An aqueous infusion of leaves (a handful in a liter of very hot water) gives an astringent and anti-inflammatory solution useful for calming diarrhea (one cup 3 times a day), cleaning an infected wound or burn, making a mouthwash (mouth ulcer, angina), and fighting type 2 diabetes in association with a low-calorie diet (one to two cups a day).
- An aqueous decoction (a handful of leaves in a liter of water, 15 minutes of cooking): we obtain a much more tannic liquid which can be used externally: cleaning wounds, burns, mouthwash.
OTHER USES
The inner bark is used to make ropes and the wood is of good quality (small furniture or firewood)
The leaves are used to make a vegetable dye (yellow) often by combining parts of Noni, Morinda citrifolia, (leaves or roots)
CORDIA MYXA CULTIVATION
Cordia mixa is primarily a wild shrub that can grow in poor-quality soils and in regions that experience prolonged droughts. It is also used in fallow areas, land depleted by poorly managed crops or following deforestation or excessive burning.
Grown in good conditions, it is a very hardy fruit tree that provides fruit usable by humans, fodder foliage, and quality wood.
Propagation can be done by seeds (by scarifying them) that are removed from the fruits; they must be used fairly quickly, and unfortunately, you are not sure of obtaining a good variety.
But the plants (3 months old) grown from seeds can be grafted secondarily with grafts of interesting varieties.
SOME OTHER SPECIES OF CORDIA
CORDIA DICHOTOMA = CORDIA OBLIQUA (CLAMMY CHERRY, INDIAN CHERRY, GLUE TREE)
It is a species very close to Cordia mixa, also native to Asia and Indonesia but less widespread in the world than Cordia mixa (it is nevertheless found in New Caledonia and the West Indies).
The fruits are larger and light red or pinkish in color.
The fruits and leaves are used like those of Cordia mixa.
CORDIA COLLOCOCA (RED MANJACK, CANDELERO, MAPOU RIVYE)
It is native to the tropical-equatorial regions of South America and the West Indies. It is a tree that can reach 15 to 20 meters.
When ripe, its small fruits are red, they are the size and color of a small cherry.
It is a tree with separate sexes, so it is necessary to plant male and female plants to obtain fruit.
It is propagated by seeds and therefore also thanks to birds.
CORDIA SULCATA (WHITE MANJACK, MUCILAGE MANJACK)
It is a small tree or shrub found in the Antilles, particularly in Cuba.
Its small (10 mm) edible fruits are whitish when ripe.
CORDIA BOISSIERI (ANACAHUITA, MEXICAN OLIVE, TEXAS OLIVE)
This species is found in northeastern Mexico and southern Texas. It is a small tree or shrub with evergreen foliage and decorative white flowers.
Its small, olive-sized (15mm) yellow-green fruits are edible after cooking (jam-jelly).
Consumed raw and in large quantities, they can cause some temporary neurological disorders (dizziness, malaise).
It is often planted as an ornamental tree.
Copyright 2025: Dr Jean-Michel Hurtel