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Garcinia kola

(Garcinia)

Overview

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Vulnerable

Threat status

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Garcinia, Bitter Cola, Bitter Kola, Bitter-Kola, False Kola, Male Kola

Common Names in French:

Cola Amer, Faux Cola, Petit Cola

Common Names in Informal Latinized N:

Garcinia

Common Names in Japanese:

Garushinia Kora

Description

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Genus Garcinia

Trees or shrubs , usually with yellow latex. Terminal bud functional; buds usually lacking scales . Leaves opposite [or rarely whorled ], very rarely stipulate , petiolate , entire, leathery to papery , usually glabrous ; secondary veins usually prominent , numerous to few, oblique to perpendicular to midvein ; tertiary veins reticulate, with adaxial brownish transvenous resin canals [or much branched] and abaxial linear [to punctiform or much branched] or intervenous translucent glands ; petiole often with basal liguliform appendage . Plant functionally dioecious (sometimes apparently flowers bisexual or plant monoecious), flowers in terminal and/or axillary cymes (often thyrsiform), triads or fascicles, or paired or solitary. Sepals [2 or 3 or]4 or 5, decussate or imbricate (quincuncial), free [or very rarely completely connate in bud]. Petals [3 or]4 or 5[-8], fascicles each with many to few stamens with filaments almost free to completely united , or ± completely connate [or adnate to petals], with anthers 1, 2, 4 or many-celled, basifixed or variously united; fasciclodes (sterile stamen fascicles) 4 or 5, antisepalous and free or ± united or absent; pistillode present or absent. Female flowers: staminode fascicles as for staminate flowers but smaller or staminodes apparently free; fasciclodes free as in male flower but smaller or united in a ring at base of ovary or absent; stigmas free or ± united, peltate, 2-5-lobed or entire. Berry smooth or sulcate [or verrucose or rarely secondarily dehiscent ], with leathery to thin exocarp and 1-5 or sometimes more seeds embedded in endocarpic pulp. Seeds large; hypocotyl massive.

About 450 species: tropical and S Africa, Madagascar, tropical Asia, NE Australia, W Polynesia, tropical America; 20 species (13 endemic, one introduced ) in China.

The fruit of most species in this genus are edible, among them, those of Garcinia mangostana are famous. The seeds yield more than 15% oil . The yellow resin of some species is used as a medicine. Species like G. hanburyi J. D. Hooker provide medicinal resin and yellow dyes of the best quality. The timber of many species is used for building houses or making furniture.[1]

Habitat

Ecology: A widespread tree of evergreen forest .[2].

List of Habitats :

Taxonomy

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Notes

Publishing author : Heckel Publication : J. Pharm. Chim. ser. 5, 8: 88 (-89) 1883 [July 1883]

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Garcinia

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 20 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

G. capuronii (Tin Can Bay Whiting) · G. dulcis (Gourka) · G. hanburyi (Hanbury's Garcinia) · G. hessii (Lemon Saptree) · G. hombroniana (Luli) · G. indica (Garcinia) · G. intermedia (Monkey Fruit) · G. kola (Garcinia) · G. lateriflora (Garcinia) · G. livingstonei (African Mangosteen) · G. lowryi (Clanwilliam Redfin) · G. mangostana (Manggis) · G. morella (Ceylon Camboge) · G. multiflora (Garcinia) · G. myrtifolia (Garcinia) · G. portoricensis (Bakupari) · G. prainiana (Button Mangosteen) · G. schomburgkiana (Madan) · G. spicata (Gamboge Tree) · G. xanthochymus (False Mangosteen)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 24, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Xi-wen Li, Jie Li & Peter Stevens "Garcinia". in Flora of China Vol. 13 Page 1, 40. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Cheek, M. 2004. Garcinia kola. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 01 February 2012. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012