Kola Nut
Kola Nut - pod and seeds
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malvales Family: Malvaceae Subfamily: Sterculioideae Genus: Cola Schott & Endl.
Species
See text Image File history File links Name  Kola vera (sp?) Family  Sterculiaceae The image shows the kola nut seed pod with the tough husk cut in half longitudinally exposing the nuts and their yellow fleshy covering. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Pteridophyta - ferns and horsetails Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... It has been suggested that Angiospermae, and Anthophyta be merged into this article or section. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class: this name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Magnoliaceae by the termination -opsida (Art 16 of the ICBN). ... Families Malvaceae (mallows,...) Dipterocarpaceae Sarcolaenaceae Cistaceae Muntingiaceae Bixaceae Diegodendraceae Cochlospermaceae Sphaerosepalaceae Thymelaeaceae Neuradaceae The Malvales are an order of flowering plants, mostly comprised of shrubs and trees. ... Subfamilies Bombacoideae Brownlowioideae Byttnerioideae Dombeyoideae Grewioideae Helicteroideae Malvoideae Sterculioideae Tilioideae Malvaceae is family of flowering plants containing Malva, the mallow genus, and its relatives. ... Heinrich Wilhelm Schott (January 7, 1794 - March 5, 1865) was a botanist well-known for his extensive work on the aroids (Family Araceae). ... Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher (24 June 1804 - 28 March 1849; botanical abbreviation Endl. ...

Kola nut (Cola) is a genus of about 125 species of trees native to the tropical rainforests of Africa, classified in the family Malvaceae, subfamily Sterculioideae (or treated in the separate family Sterculiaceae). It is related to the South American genus Theobroma (Cacao). They are evergreen trees, growing to 20 m tall, with glossy ovoid leaves up to 30 cm long. For other uses, see Tree (disambiguation). ... The Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... Subfamilies Bombacoideae Brownlowioideae Byttnerioideae Dombeyoideae Grewioideae Helicteroideae Malvoideae Sterculioideae Tilioideae Malvaceae is family of flowering plants containing Malva, the mallow genus, and its relatives. ... Genera Abelmoschus - Okra Abutilon - Abutilon Adansonia – Baobab Alcea - Hollyhock Althaea - Marsh mallow Bombax – Silk-cotton tree Callirhoe - Poppy mallow Ceiba – Kapok Chiranthodendron – Mexican Hand Tree Cola - Kola nut Corchorus - Jute Durio – Durian Fremontodendron – Flannelbush Gaya – Gaya Gossypium - Cotton plant Hibiscus - Hibiscus Hoheria &#8211... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Binomial name Theobroma cacao L. Cacao (Theobroma cacao) is a small (4–8 m tall) evergreen tree in the family Sterculiaceae (alternatively Malvaceae), native to tropical Mexico, but now cultivated throughout the tropics. ... A Silver Fir shoot showing three successive years of retained leaves In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant which retains its leaves year-round, with each leaf persisting for more than 12 months. ... Foliage redirects here. ...

Selected species

• Cola acuminata - Abata Cola
• Cola anomala
• Cola gigantea
• Cola heterophylla
• Cola nitida - Goro
• Cola pachycarpa
• Cola vera
• Cola verticillata

Uses

Cola acuminata

The kola nut has a bitter flavour and caffeine content, and is chewed in many West African cultures, individually or in a group setting. It is often used ceremonially, presented to tribal chiefs or presented to guests. Chewing kola nut can ease hunger pangs. Frequent chewing of the kola nut can also lead to stained teeth. Among the urban youth of West Africa, kola nut is becoming less popular. Image File history File links Koeh-190. ... Image File history File links Koeh-190. ... Caffeine is a xanthine alkaloid compound that acts as a stimulant in humans. ...  Western Africa (UN subregion)  Maghreb[1] West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ...

Kola was originally used to make cola soft drinks, though today most of these mass-produced beverages use artificial flavourings. Some exceptions are Barr's Red Kola, Harboe Original Taste Cola, Foxon Park Kola, Blue Sky Organic Cola, Sprecher's Puma Kola, and Cricket Cola, the latter being made from kola nuts and green tea. Several different brands of cola. ... A soft drink is a drink that contains no alcohol. ... A.G. Barr plc (LSE Stockcode: BAG) is a British soft drinks manufacturer, based in Glasgow, Scotland. ... Barrs Red Kola is a carbonated soft drink made from Fruit Extracts including flavoring from the Kola bean. ... Foxon Park is a soft drink brand produced by Foxon Park Beverage Company. ... Cricket Cola is a drink made from kola nut and green tea. ... Green tea (绿茶) is tea that has undergone minimal oxidation during processing. ...

Outside of Africa, some species are cultivated for their nuts in Indonesia, Brazil, Jamaica and elsewhere in the humid tropics.

Safety Issues

Kola nuts contain high amounts of N-nitroso and tannins compounds, which are carcinogenic. In Nigeria, where the chewing of Kola nuts is a common practice, there is a high incidence of oral and gastrointestinal cancer which may be related to this habit.

History

The kola nut, like the coffee berry and tea leaf, appears to have ancient origins. It is chewed in many West African cultures, individually or in a social setting, to restore vitality and ease hunger pangs. In 1911, kola became the focus of one of the earliest documented health scares when the US government seized 40 barrels and 20 kegs of Coca-Cola syrup in Chattanooga, Tennessee, alleging that the caffeine in its drink was "injurious to health". On March 13, 1911, the government initiated The United States vs. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola, hoping to force Coca-Cola to remove caffeine from its formula by making exaggerated claims, such as that the excessive use of Coca-Cola at one girls' school led to "wild nocturnal freaks, violations of college rules and female proprieties, and even immoralities." Although the judge ruled in favor of Coca-Cola, two bills were introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1912 to amend the Pure Food and Drug Act, adding caffeine to the list of "habit-forming" and "deleterious" substances which must be listed on a product's label.

References

• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Cola
• Kola Nut Tradition in Igboland (South-West Nigeria): Kola Nut Tradition
• Benjamin, LT Jr; Rogers AM, Rosenbaum A (1991 Jan). "Coca-Cola, caffeine, and mental deficiency: Harry Hollingworth and the Chattanooga trial of 1911". J Hist Behav Sci 27 (1): 42-55. PMID 2010614.
• Jarvis, Gail (May 21, 2002). The Rise and Fall of Cocaine Cola. Retrieved on 2006-08-19.