Tab. 5699. 

 cola acuminata. 



Kola-nut Tree. 



Nat. Ord. StERCULIACEJE. — MoXffiCIA MoNADELPHIA. 



Gen. Char. Flores unisexuales v. polygami. Calyx 5-fidus, rarius 1- v. t>- 

 fidus. PetalaO. Columna staminea (nunc brevissima) apice antheras 

 10-12 siraplici serie annulatim adnatas ferens. Ovarii carpella 5-10 v. 

 rarius 10-12, subdistincta v. connate, oo-ovulata ; styli totidem, breves, 

 filiformes v. dilatati, intus v. supra stigmatosi. Carpella matura crassa, 

 intus rima dehiscentia, oo-sperma. Semina obovoidca, exalburninosa ; 

 cotyledones 2 v. 4, crassa? ; radicula hilo proxima. — Arbores. Folia Integra 

 v.juniora lobata, cum petiolo articulata. Elores in caule v. in axillis fasci- 

 culati, breviter cymosi v. subpaniculati. 



Cola acuminata ; foliis obovatis oblongis obovato-lanceolatisve acuminatis 

 venosis utrinque glabris, junioribus ssepe 3-lobis, columna staminea 

 brevi, antherarum loculis divaricatissimis. 



Cola acuminata. Br. PI. Jav. Ear. p. 237. Whip. Pep. v. 5. p. 106. 



Var. ^. acuminata ; foliis breviter petiolatis latioribus. Rook. Fl. Nig. 233. 



Steeculia acuminata. Palisot, Fl. d'Oware, v. I. p. 41. t. 24. 



S. grandiflora et S. nitida. Vent. Ilort. Malm. v. 2. p. 91 in nota. 



S. verticillata. Schum. PI. Guin. p. 240. 



Lunania Pichy, DC. Prodr. v. 2. p. 92. 



I have here the pleasure of figuring- for the first time in 

 England, a plant of remarkable importance in an economic 

 point of view, the well-known kola-nut of tropical Africa, 

 also known as the Cola, Korra, or Gorra nut, the seeds of 

 which are universally eaten by the negroes of West Africa 

 and the West Indies as a condiment. The trade in this nut 

 is immense throughout tropical Africa, and extends from 

 Tripoli to Benguela and Angola. The seeds are about the 

 size and appearance of a horse-chestnut, have an astringent 

 taste, and a portion of one is chewed by the negro before 

 every meal to promote digestion and improve the flavour of 

 whatever is eaten after it. It is also used as a medicine and 

 to render putrid water wholesome. The tree is abundant 

 along the western coast, and found also on the eastern, and 

 march 1st, 1868. 



