Cordia
/ˈkɔːr.di.ə/noun
A genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae, including trees and shrubs commonly called cordias or manjack trees.
Did you know?The genus Cordia was named after Valerius Cordus, a sixteenth-century German botanist and physician—not directly from Latin cor, “heart.”
Etymological Timeline
16th Century
German
Cordus
“The surname of Valerius Cordus, a German botanist and physician; the ultimate origin of the surname is uncertain.”
16th Century
Neo-Latin
Valerius Cordus
“The Latinized name used for the Renaissance naturalist whose botanical work later inspired the genus name.”
1753
Botanical Latin
Cordia
“The genus name established by Carl Linnaeus in honor of Valerius Cordus.”
Modern English
English
Cordia
“The accepted scientific name for a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the borage family.”