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Paullinia cupana
Guaraná is a climbing vine in the soapberry family, native to the Amazon basin and widely grown in Brazil for its seeds, which are rich in caffeine. It needs warm, humid tropical conditions and a support to climb.
Guaraná ( from the Portuguese guaraná [ɡʷaɾɐˈna]; Paullinia cupana, syns. P. crysan, P. sorbilis) is a climbing plant in the family Sapindaceae, native to the Amazon basin and especially common in Brazil. Guaraná has large leaves and clusters of flowers, and is best known for the seeds from its beans, which are about the size of a coffee bean.
Guaraná is common in soft drinks in Brazil, and is a major source of caffeine for many South Americans. Products containing guaraná can be effective stimulants: the seeds can be up to about 6% caffeine. For comparison, green coffee beans are about 1–3% caffeine. As an additive, it has gained notoriety for being used in energy drinks. As with other plants producing caffeine, the high concentration of caffeine is a defensive toxin that repels insects from the berry and seeds.
In the United States, guaraná fruit powder and seed extract have not been evaluated for the status of "generally recognized as safe" (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration, but rather are approved as food additives for flavor (but not non-flavor) uses.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Guarana 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.
