Cordia curassavica

(Jacq.) Roem. & Schult. i

Family: Boraginaceae
Order: Boraginales
Class: Magnoliopsida
Phylum / Division: Magnoliophyta
Kingdom: Plantae

Synonyms: Cordia brevispicata, Cordia canescens, Cordia chacoensis, Cordia chepensis, Cordia cuneiformis, Cordia cylindrostachya, Cordia divaricata, Cordia graveolens, Cordia guianensis, Cordia hispida, Cordia imparilis, Cordia interrupta, Cordia linearis, Cordia littoralis, Cordia martinicensis, Cordia mollis, Cordia oxyphylla, Cordia palmeri, Cordia peruviana, Cordia rugosa, Cordia salicina, Cordia socorrensis, Cordia spicata, Cordia verbenacea, Lantana bullata, Lithocardium canescens, Lithocardium cuneiforme, Lithocardium curassavicum, Lithocardium divaricatum, Lithocardium macrostachyum, Lithocardium oxyphyllum, Lithocardium salicinum, Montjolya bullata, Varronia acuta, Varronia brevispicata, Varronia canescens, Varronia cuneoformis, Varronia curassavica, Varronia divaricata, Varronia graveolens, Varronia guianensis, Varronia hispida, Varronia interrupta, Varronia macrostachya, Varronia obliqua, Varronia oxyphylla, Varronia salicina, Varronia verbenacea.

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Description

Varronia curassavica, synonym Cordia curassavica, commonly known as black sage or wild sage, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cordiaceae. It is sometimes called tropical black sage to distinguish it from another unrelated species named black sage, Salvia mellifera. It is native to tropical America but has also been widely introduced to Southeast Asia and the tropical Pacific region, where it is an invasive weed. The specific epithet is a Latinised form of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea region and the locality of the type collection.

Black sage is a many-branched shrub growing up to 3 m in height and smelling strongly of sage. Its leaves are lanceolate to ovate in shape, 40–100 mm long and 15–60 mm wide. The small white flowers grow in clusters at the ends of the branches; they have a funnel-shaped corolla, 4–6 mm long. The small, fleshy red fruits each contain a single 4–5 mm long seed.

Source: Wikipedia, article Cordia curassavica. Content adapted from Wikipedia, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Accessed on 17/07/2026.