-KCCA | For a better City

Kampala Tree and Palm Directory

Tree Species

Common Name

Tree Description

Tree Uses

English: Geiger tree, Scarlet cordia, Sebestens.

Fruit

Flowers

Whole tree

Bark

Leaves

+ Tree Species

Cordia sebestena

+ Tree Family

Boraginaceae

+ Ecology

Geiger tree is native to the Caribbean region, Central and North America. It can be found in sandy or rocky coastal thickets. In Kampala, this tree can be found along Kampala road among other places.

+ Description

A small evergreen or deciduous tree with a dense crown; usually growing up to 10 meters tall, though it can grow larger in cultivation. The bole can be 30cm in diameter.

BARK: straight trunk with dark to light grey, fissured bark.

LEAVES: green, ovate, simple and alternate arrangement, margins undulate, upper surface rough, measuring about 20 cm long and 11 cm wide. They are thick, deeply veined and have a rough, uneven leaf texture.

FLOWERS: orange funnel-shaped 5 to 7-petaled flowers borne on a terminal panicle inflorescence, each flower about 4 cm long, short yellow-orange stamens present, petals irregular and wrinkly.

FRUITS: white fleshy ovoid drupe, contains 2 - 4 seeds.

+ Uses

Edible: fruit can be eaten. http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php id=Cordia%20sebestena

Medicine: fruit, and leaves. http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php id=Cordia%20sebestena

The wood is used locally for carpentry.

The leaves are used like sandpaper for polishing surfaces.

An ornamental tree

Provides shade

+ Propagation

Seeds, cuttings, layering.

+ Management

Fast growing. Saplings should be pruned at the branch tips to encourage a bushy growth form.

+ Remarks

The tree is sometimes harvested from the wild for its edible fruit, which is eaten locally. The fruit also has medicinal uses and the timber is used locally.