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Cola acuminata
Also called True Kola, Cola, Colatree, Goora Nut, Kola
Cola acuminata, the true kola, is a tropical African forest tree grown mainly for its caffeine-rich kola nuts, chewed in West Africa and used to flavour cola drinks. It needs warm, humid, shaded conditions similar to its native rainforest.
Cola acuminata is a species in the genus Cola, of the family Malvaceae, native to tropical Africa. It is generally known for its fruit, the kola nut, chewed as a source of caffeine in West Africa and used to impart the cola flavour in manufactured beverages such as Coca-Cola.
Its fruits are harvested from the forests of West Africa. The fruits contain about 2% catechin-caffeine, theobromine and kolatin. They are roasted, pounded or chewed, and can be added to drinks, such as tea or milk, or cereal such as porridge. When the whole nuts are chewed, they have a bitter flavour, but leave a sweet aftertaste that enhances flavour and sweetness of other foods in the meal.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cola acuminata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
