Cordia sinensis Lam.
C. quercifolia Klotzsch, C. gharaf (Forssk.) Ehrenb. ex Asch., C. rothii Roem. & Schult.
Eng.: Grey-leaved cordia, grey-leaved saucer-berry. Ara.: Mokhheit, gharaf, gharaaf, akjül, akzûl, hen’darabaïe, tadana, tadanaya (last 4 in Niger). Tamahaq: Tadanu, taedaenent, aedénen, tadanint. Tubu: Kohul.
Shrub or tree, up to 5(10) m in height, erect, ramose. Trunk with bark creamy-brown to brown, highly fissured in older specimens. Younger branchlets greenish. Leaves (7-25 × 15-65 mm), usually opposite or subopposite, rarely alternate, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, with entire margin, pubescent on the upper side and scarious on the underside. Petiole about 10 mm long, with long, pale hairs. Inflorescence in terminal or axillary cymes, on a long peduncle (5-25 mm). Flowers with pedicel 3-4 mm. Calyx campanulate, 4-5 mm, with 5 obtuse teeth. Corolla white or cream, from tubular to bell-shaped, with tube slightly shorter than the calyx, ending in 4-5 linear, long and flexuous lobes. Fruit a type of ovoid berry, bright red or orange when ripe, 7-20 mm long, with a long and conspicuous tip, hanging in showy groups. Seeds 1-4, hard, rough, yellowish-cream.
Flowering:
In the Sahara, usually after rainfall from December to February.
Fruiting:
About 2 months later.
Habitat:
Beds of permanent or temporary watercourses, and open shrubland ± dry areas.
Distribution:
Tropical. In North Africa it is found in the southern Sahara, reaching in the N to the mountainous massifs of central Sahara (Tefedest, Ahaggar, Tibesti, Air, etc.) and to some oases in the desert of central-western Egypt.
Conservation status:
Common and widespread species, although in North Africa it is rare. In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species it is listed as Least Concern (LC) at global level (Oldfield, 2020). In the Red List of vascular plants of Egypt (Flora Aegyptiaca Vol 1, 2000), it is listed as “Vulnerable”. In Algeria, it is included in its List of protected non cultivated flora (Executive Decree 12-03 on 4-Jan-2012).