Cordia dodecandra - Ciricote

[luc]

Anybody growing this one ? A local fruiting tree ( not very common ) with beautiful orange flowers and slightly sweet fruit . I never tasted it myself so far .

[micah]

Aloha Luc!

I have this plant in pots...most likely through pot into earth in nursery...wondered about fruit quality.  It has flowered in pot...not set fruit though.
Please update on fruit taste if you get a chance.

[dreamfrutas]

Hi Luc

Do you have seeds??? 

Regards

Carlos

[waldi1]

Hi Luc,
I have 5 trees because of their butiful flowers, I have tasted the fruit because it is eadeble but a funny taste.
I also knew the name but I forgot.
Helmut

[Guanabanus]

Here in Florida it is commonly grown as an ornamental, under the name "Geiger Tree", in honor of the Key West captain who introduced it in the 1800's.

The fruits are not desirable fresh, but they are delicious when prepared like figs by boiling in sugared water.

[luc]

Hi Luc

Do you have seeds??? 

Regards

Carlos

No Carlos , I was offered a tree but wanted to check first if the fruit is any good .

[Nispero]

Here in Florida it is commonly grown as an ornamental, under the name "Geiger Tree", in honor of the Key West captain who introduced it in the 1800's.

The fruits are not desirable fresh, but they are delicious when prepared like figs by boiling in sugared water.

Here in Santo Domingo Cordia sebestena is a common ornamental - plant looks fairly similar - fruit are white however. I could collect seeds by the kg in case someone is interested.

yes edible - raw somewhat boring - I'll try to boil some

[Saltcayman]

Yes, I think the Geiger tree (Cordia sebestena) is  different. They grow all over the TCI and are very tough, drought and salt tolerant.  Flowers look different on Cordia dodecandra and perhaps fruit is better?

Best,  Dave

Here in Florida it is commonly grown as an ornamental, under the name "Geiger Tree", in honor of the Key West captain who introduced it in the 1800's.

The fruits are not desirable fresh, but they are delicious when prepared like figs by boiling in sugared water.

Here in Santo Domingo Cordia sebestena is a common ornamental - plant looks fairly similar - fruit are white however. I could collect seeds by the kg in case someone is interested.

yes edible - raw somewhat boring - I'll try to boil some

[Saltcayman]

I found this online

Cordia dodecandra

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Common name: Ziricote

Other common names: Ziricote
Names in non-English languages:
Spanish

This timber and ornamental tree from Central American and the Caribbean is typically 15 to 20 meters tall, with a straight, short trunk, grey bark, upward pointing branches and v-shaped to rounded crown. The rough, sandpaper-like leaves fall from the tree during the dry season and are soon replaced by showy, orange flowers that contrast with the leafless branches and persist until  the rains arrive, bringing new leaf growth.

Use: The wood is highly valued in carved craft, particularly in Belize and in the manufacture of furniture, veneer for plywood, turned articles and handicrafts. The fruit are processed into a fruit conserve and made into a dessert, particularly in the Yucatan Peninsula region of Mexico. The fruit are usually preserved whole in a sugar syrup, but must be processed within four days of harvesting because they are highly perishable. Overripe or fallen fruit are used as livestock feed. Mature trees are reported to produce on average 35 kg or fruit per year. The nectar producing flowers are a valuable bee forage resource.

Climate: Grows naturally and produces valuable timber in seasonally dry, sub-humid to moderately humid tropical lowland climates, generally in areas with average annual low temperatures of 20 to 24 C, average annual high temperatures of to 30 to 33 C and annual rainfall from 800 to1800 mm.

Growing: Propagate from seed which remain viable for up to 12 months. Seedling trees start flowering when 4 to 5 years old. Growth is best in free draining soils calcareous or limestone soil with a an alkaline pH in the range of 7.5 to 7.8.

[Saltcayman]

I am really excited by this Luc.  Has great potential for growing in Arid, limestone tropics.    Dave

Flowers

Ziricote
http://chalk.richmond.edu/flora-kaxil-kiuic/c/cordia_dodecandra.html

Geiger
http://www.latin-wife.com/Colombian-Flowers-/Cordia-sebestena.asp

[Nispero]

Ziricote
http://chalk.richmond.edu/flora-kaxil-kiuic/c/cordia_dodecandra.html

Hi Dave - the flowers in this link look very different from the picture luc posted in the opening post. They got double the number of petals.

The majority of Cordia trees arround here has white fruit and red flowers. The flowers are not often visited by bees, but quite popular with hummingbirds. In addition I discovered some slightly larger orange flowering Cordia trees lately. The orange flowering Cordia trees have no ripe fruit at the moment. I'll repost here in case the fruit of these looks different from the white ones of Cordia sebestana.