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Cola nitida
Also called Gbanja Kola, Kola Nut, Bitter Cola, Kola
In Singapore: Cola Nut, Kola, Kola Nut, Bitter Cola Tree, Guru Nut, Gurru Nuts, Bissy Nuts, Cola Seeds (Grown in Singapore)
Ghanja kola is a large evergreen rainforest tree from West Africa, grown commercially for its caffeine-rich nuts used in cola drinks. Key to growing it is deep, rich soil and high, evenly spread rainfall in a warm, humid tropical climate.
Cola nitida is a species of plant belonging to the family Malvaceae.
It is a tree native to the rainforests of tropical West Africa. Common names include kola nut, cola, kola. The seeds contain caffeine and are chewed as a stimulant and used in the manufacture of soft drinks. The nuts and other parts of the tree have many uses of a ceremonial nature and in traditional medicine.
Cola nitida is native to Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Nigeria. It is a lowland tree but can be found up to altitudes of about 300 metres (980 ft) in areas with deep, rich soils and evenly distributed rainfall. It has been cultivated in other parts of tropical Africa as well as India, Jamaica, Brazil, and Hawaii. It can grow where there is around 1,200 millimetres (47 in) of rain but does better where the annual rainfall exceeds 1,700 millimetres (67 in), spread across eight months or more. Its temperature range is 23 to 28 °C (73 to 82 °F) and it grows on both light and heavy soils as long as they are deep.
The nuts contain caffeine, theobromine and tannin. Along with the closely related Cola acuminata, which is also native to West Africa, the trees are cultivated commercially in tropical regions of the world and the nuts used in the manufacture of "cola" drinks. Other ingredients of these drinks include spice oils, other aromatic compounds (sometimes including the leaves of the tree), caramel for colouring, sweeteners, phosphoric or citric acid, and carbon dioxide to provide effervescence.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cola nitida 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.
