How to Grow and Care for Manjacks

The Cordia boissieri is a flowering shrub that can reach a height of up to 5 to 7 m with its symmetrical round crown measuring between 3 to 5 m in diameter. Its fruit is sweet but slightly toxic when fresh and can cause dizziness in humans. Jellies made from its fruit are safe to eat while the syrup is also made to dye cloth.

Geiger Tree (Cordia sebestena) is an evergreen tropical tree whose stiff, dark green leaves have a rough, sandpaper-like texture. It produces clusters of dark orange flowers, most in spring and summer, followed by edible fruit. It grows in sandy, salty, dry soil and does well in warm, coastal regions.

Kou (Cordia subcordata) is a tropical tree that is harvested in the wild for its wood that is used to make various woodcrafts. A dark dye is also obtained from the bark. This tree is also useful in agroforestry because of its dense growth and salt tolerance. It was given the common name "Kerosene tree" in Papua New Guinea due to its readiness to burn hard and fast -- even rubbing two sticks of its wood together will start a fire.

Bird lime tree is a medium-sized tree with sticky fruit. In China, the fruits are pickled with ginger as a delicacy, but in its native setting, insects and even small birds can get caught and trapped on these fruits, giving rise to another of this plant's common names, the Bird catcher tree.

The umbrella-shaped canopy of east african cordia is especially valuable for its shade in croplands, providing protection from the sun in places like coffee plantations. East african cordia also flowers throughout the spring and summer, producing sweet-smelling white blooms.