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Botanical photograph: Cordia lutea (Cordia lutea Lam.)

BOTANICAL PHOTOGRAPH · BORAGINACEAE

THE HERBARIUM · BORAGINACEAE

Cordia lutea

Cordia lutea Lam.

Source topics
Digestive systemKidneys and urinary tractReproductive topics

These topics describe what the sources discuss, including unproven claims and risks. They are not therapeutic recommendations.

Documentary entry
  • Uses reported in northern PeruReported historical use
Plant partFresh or dried flowers
FormsNo recommended preparation

Documentary entryReported uses only. No preparation or therapeutic use is recommended.

Limited ethnobotanical entry: reported uses, with effectiveness and safety unproven by this inventory. No home recipe or dose is proposed.

Read the precautions
Identity & origin

BOTANICAL IDENTITY

The right name is the first step.

Cordia lutea is an accepted species in Plants of the World Online, in the Boraginaceae family. Bussmann and Sharon’s survey documents it in northern Peru under the local names Overo, Flor de Overo, Overal. Recorded material: fresh or dried flowers. ISA125, EHCHL77, JULS62 and GER10 accompany the row. A separate note describes fruit latex as paper glue: that material use does not make latex the recorded medicinal part. This entry follows the botanical identity and context of the record; it is not an identification key for collecting plants.

Part used
Fresh or dried flowers
Origin & distribution
Native range reported by Kew: W. South America. The uses presented come from the northern Peru survey; the interview location does not establish where a marketed batch grew wild.

Also known as: Ectemis lutea (Lam.) Raf., Gerascanthus luteus (Lam.) Borhidi, Calyptracordia rotundifolia (Ruiz & Pav.) Friesen, Coilanthera rotundifolia (Ruiz & Pav.) Raf., Cordia flava (Andersson) Gürke, Cordia marchionica Drake, Cordia rotundifolia Ruiz & Pav., Gerascanthus rotundifolius (Ruiz & Pav.) Friesen, Lithocardium flavum Kuntze, Lithocardium rotundifolium (Ruiz & Pav.) Kuntze, Varronia flava Andersson, Varronia rotundifolia (Ruiz & Pav.) A.DC., Overo, Flor de Overo, Overal

Check the binomial Cordia lutea and the actual plant part. The local names Overo, Flor de Overo, Overal alone do not guarantee botanical identity; properties of a related species cannot be transferred.

An illustration is not enough to identify a plant for consumption. Do not forage for a species based solely on this profile.

Uses & evidence

UNDERSTANDING THE USES

Properties & uses.

Reported historical use

Uses reported in northern Peru

Flowers are reported in an oral preparation with Llantén and Boldo for liver, bladder, kidney or prostate complaints. Hepatitis is among the stated indications, without virological diagnosis or biological measurement. This mention does not justify treatment of liver disease. These reports establish neither a causal relationship nor clinical effectiveness. Described methods are ethnographic observations, without advice to prepare or take the plant.

Use reported in a survey or inventory. This establishes neither benefit nor safety.

Read the source

The traditional uses described are not clinical proof of effectiveness. Evidence for one preparation cannot automatically be applied to another.

Precautions before use

BEFORE ANY USE

Precautions & contraindications.

This guidance does not cover every individual situation. Missing information is not a guarantee of safety.

The following warnings do not constitute a complete review of interactions or contraindications. An unstudied combination cannot be considered compatible.

Contraindications & precautions

  • The selected sources provide no complete clinical assessment of contraindications for this species. Their silence does not establish safety.
  • Medical or pharmaceutical advice is required before medicinal use, particularly with a chronic condition or persistent symptoms.

Medicine interactions

  • Interactions with medicines are not evaluated in the cited ethnobotanical survey. Ask a pharmacist to assess the exact species, plant part and product; do not discontinue prescribed treatment.

“Reported” does not prove causality; “possible” may reflect indirect evidence. “None reported” means none in the cited source, not that all combinations have been studied. Do not stop a prescribed treatment based on this profile.

Adverse effects

  • The use inventory contains no monitoring that could establish the frequency or severity of adverse effects. No safe dose is inferred from the described practices.

Pregnancy & breastfeeding

Pregnancy and breastfeeding: the selected sources do not establish safety for this medicinal use. Do not self-medicate; seek appropriate professional advice.

Children & adolescents

Any uses reported in children validate neither safety nor a paediatric dose. Do not independently use this plant medicinally in children; consult a professional.

If symptoms persist, worsen or are unusual, consult a healthcare professional. In an emergency, contact the emergency services.

Bussmann & Sharon (2006) — Additional file 1, p. 19, Cordia luteaRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Plants of the World Online: Cordia lutea Lam.Bussmann & Sharon (2006) — Traditional medicinal plant use in Northern Peru: tracking two thousand years of healing culture
Sources & last review
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