Orange Geiger

Cordia sebestena L. with comments on additional species

CORE-dee-ah  seh-BES-teh-nah

Boraginaceae

Explanation of name: Euricius Cordus (1486-1535) and his son were German botanists and pharmacists (DEH).  According to DAV, sebestena refers to a similar tree.

Natural range: Caribbean Region. Authors differ on whether this species is native to Florida. WU2 interprets it as not native.

Recognition: Mid-sized tree having rough, coarsely toothed (or untoothed), alternate, elliptic to ovate leaves and bright orange or salmon-colored, funnel-shaped flowers in flat clusters (cymes), the petals wrinkled. Additional species turn up in South Florida cultivation.

White Geiger (or Texas Wild-Olive), Cordia boissieri A. DC., from Texas and Mexico, differs by having white flowers with yellow centers, and by being more cold hardy (BR1). Also having white flowers, Brazilian White Geiger, Cordia superba Cham., is offered by a small number of Florida nurseries. It has elliptic leaves and very ruffly white flowers lacking the yellow centers characteristic of C. boissieri. Yellow Geiger (Cordia lutea Lam.) is a small to mid-sized tree with bright yellow flowers.

Landscape uses: A tough, medium-sized, fairly slow growing specimen tree with clusters of bright flowers. The trunk and branches are dark-colored, and tend to be gnarly. Drought tolerant and alkaline tolerant. Geiger beetles may damage the leaf margins, but the damage is usually temporary (UFENH341). Mites can be a serious problem. The flowers attract hummingbirds.

Notes: A handful of non-showy species are indigenous to the southern tip of Florida: the endangered, Cordia globosa (Jacq.) Kunth and  C. bahamensis Urb. Cordia dichotoma Forst. f., is an unattractive escape from cultivation present in Palm Beach County (see it in Riverbend Park, Jupiter).

Additional notes: The flowers are of two types, with any individual tree having only one of the types. Some have the styles longer than the stamens, and others have the opposite. (This is not classic heterostyly, as the corollas differ in length, see TOM.)  According to UFST182, the common name Geiger Tree probably commemorates John Geiger a 19^th-Century resident of Key West.