Cordia subcordata (Kou)


  • TropPlant Accession Number (TPAN): 0089
  • Botanical Name: Cordia subcordata 
  • Common Name: Kou, Mareer, Kerosene Wood, Snottygobbles, glueberry
  • Cultivar: N/A
  • Family: Boringinaceae
Cordia subcordata 
Photo by Matthew Gaston

  • Native To: Coasts of East Africa, Madagascar, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Pacific Islands

Landscaping Information

    • Plant Type: Tree
    • Texture: Dense
    • Form: Round-Headed
    • Height (on average, in landscape use): 25' - 35'
    • Height to Spread Ratio: 1:1
    • Growth Rate: Medium
    • Landscape Values: Accent, Street Tree, Background, Framing, Shade, Sculptural Form, Cultural Significance
    • Outstanding Quality: Flower Color
    Cordia subcordata along a busy walkway at UH Manoa
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Botanical Descriptions

    • Flowers: Pumpkin Orange, odorless, funnel-shaped 1"-1.5" long, a single corolla, 5-7 lobes
    Cordia subcordata Flower
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Cordia subcordata Flower
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    • Fruits: ovoid,  0.75"- 1.25" long, green to brown during maturity. Contains one or two seeds. Hard.
    Cordia subcordata Fruit
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Cordia subcordata leaves with fruits ripe and unripe

    • Foliage Color: Young/immature: light green. Mature: Bright Medium Green
    • Foliage Tip: Acute.
    • Foliage Base:  Acute to Attenuate
    • Petiole: 3"- 3.25"
    • Stipules: N/A
    • Margins: Undulate
    • Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
    • Leaf Shape: elliptic to ovate
    • Leaf Type: Simple
    • Leaf Texture: Thin, smooth adaxial surface, slightly pubescent abaxial surface.
    • Leaf Special Notes: bright green leaves somewhat tightly arranged leaves provide a dense canopy. Prominent venation on abaxial surface.
    Cordia subcordata adaxial leaf surface
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    Cordia subcordata abaxial leaf surface
    Photo by Matthew Gaston

    • Bark and Trunk: brownish gray, smooth bark.

    Horticultural Information

      • Light Preference: Full Sun
      • Light Tolerances: Semi-Sun
      • Soil Preferences: Slightly Alkaline, Neutral, Loam, Sand, Moist to Dry (Mesic). yet Well Draining.
      • Tolerances: Alkaline,Salt Air, Moderate Winds, Humidity, Slight Drought.
      • Water Requirements: Moderate
      • Notes on Maintenance: Low maintenance, slight pruning can maintain a handsome rounded crown. 
      • Propagation: Seeds
      • Minimum USDA Hardiness Zone: 10a
      • Weed Risk Assessment Score (WRA): -3, Low Risk

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