View source for Cordia platythyrsa

{{Short description|Species of tree}}
{{speciesbox
|status=VU
|status_system=IUCN3.1
|status_ref=<ref name=IUCN3.1>{{Cite iucn | author= African Regional Workshop (Conservation & Sustainable Management of Trees, Zimbabwe, July 1996) |title= Cordia platythyrsa | page= e.T33043A9752794 | date =1998 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T33043A9752794.en | access-date =July 18, 2020 }}</ref>
|image =
|genus = Cordia
|species = platythyrsa
|authority = [[John Gilbert Baker|Baker]]
}}

'''''Cordia platythyrsa''''' or '''West African cordia''' is a tall, [[flowering plant|flowering]] tree in the borage family ([[Boraginaceae]]), native to western and central Africa. Its soft wood is often used for furniture or other carpentry. It is considered "vulnerable" as it is threatened by logging.

Common names include '''ebe''' or '''mukumari''' ([[Cameroon]], [[Gabon]]), '''omo''' ([[Nigeria]]), and '''tweneboa''' ([[Ghana]]).

==Range==
West african cordia is native to [[Cameroon]], [[Congo Free State|Congo]], [[Ivory Coast]], [[Equatorial Guinea]], [[Gabon]], [[the Gambia]], [[Ghana]], [[Guinea]], [[Guinea-Bissau|Guinea Bissau]], [[Liberia]], [[Nigeria]], [[Senegal]], [[Sierra Leone]], [[Togo]], and the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Cordia platythyrsa |url=http://www.thewoodexplorer.com/maindata/we334.html |accessdate=7 April 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015131814/http://www.thewoodexplorer.com/maindata/we334.html |archivedate=15 October 2011 |url-status=dead |publisher=The Wood Explorer }}</ref>

==Description and uses==

The tree grows to over 30&nbsp;m in height and 1&nbsp;m in diameter.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cordia platythyrsa |url=http://plants.jstor.org/upwta/1_572 |accessdate=7 April 2012 |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240525210733/https://www.webcitation.org/66k0VeKhv?url=http://plants.jstor.org/upwta/1_572 |archivedate=25 May 2024 |url-status=live |publisher=JSTOR Plant Science }}</ref> The wood is pale yellow to almost white in color and used mainly for furniture making, interior joinery, domestic items, canoes, and musical instruments. It has low density (0.5&nbsp;g/cm{{sup|3}}) and is very soft (Monnin hardness 1.3),<ref>{{cite web |title=Cordia d'Afrique |url=http://tropix.cirad.fr/africa/CORDIA_D_AFRIQUE.pdf |accessdate=7 April 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509190349/http://tropix.cirad.fr/africa/CORDIA_D_AFRIQUE.pdf |archivedate=9 May 2012 |url-status=dead |publisher=TROPIX }}</ref> with a spongy, fibrous texture.

==Status==

The species is classified as vulnerable by the [[IUCN red list|IUCN Red List of Threatened species]], due to potential logging threats.<ref name=IUCN3.1/>

==References==
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{{Taxonbar|from=Q5169966}}

[[Category:Cordia|platythyrsa]]
[[Category:Trees of Africa]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Gilbert Baker]]