Bocote (Cordia)  is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae. It contains about 300 species of shrubs and trees, that are found worldwide, mostly in warmer regions. Many of the species are commonly called manjack, while bocote may refer to several Central American species in Spanish. The generic name honours German botanist and pharmacist Valerius Cordus (1515-1544).[3] Like most other Boraginaceae, the majority have trichomes (hairs) on the leaves.

 

 

The  wood of several Cordia species is commercially harvested. Ecuador laurel (C. alliodora), ziricote (C. dodecandra), Spanish elm (C. gerascanthus), and C. goeldiana are used to make furniture and doors in Central and South America.[13]

Ziricote[14] and bocote[15] are sometimes used as wood for making acoustic guitar backs and sides. Well-known guitarist Richard Thompson currently plays a Lowden F-35C RT Richard Thompson Signature Model with ziricote back and sides.[16]Similarly, drums are made from C. abyssinica, C. millenii, and C. platythrysa due to the resonance of the wood.[17]