English: Black Sage.
Synonym: Varronia curassavica; Varronia verbenacea; Cordia verbenacea.
Region: south America, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia, to Venezuela and the Guyanas; Central America, Panama to Mexico; Caribbean, Trinidad to Antigua.
Habitat: damp or dry thickets, hillsides, oak forests; elevations from sea level to 1360 metres.
Cultural: troublesome weed; escaped from cultivation, becoming a nuisance.
Content: artemetin, anti-inflammatory; naphthoquinones, antifungal against Cladosporium cucumerinum,
Candida albicans; against yellow fever-transmitting mosquito
Use: medicinal; source of fibre, coarse cordage; biological control of sugarcane fields to attract parasitizing wasps for biological control of an insect pest; fruits edible; insecticide, against mosquitos.
BotanyShrub; erect; up to 3 metres tall; grow quickly, forming dense thickets.
Stem: branching.
Leaves:.
Fruit: thin to fairly thick layer of pulpy, sweetish-tasting flesh; single seed.
TaxonomyCordia curassavica is the type species for the Varronia subgenus of Cordia