Abata cola
StarCola acuminata
Synonyms: Cola acuminata var. grandiflora, Cola acuminata var. kamerunensis, Sterculia grandiflora, Cola grandiflora, Cola macrocarpa, Cola pseudoacuminata, Bichea acuminata, Colaria acuminata, Cola ledermannii, Icosinia paniculata, Sterculia acuminata, Lunanea bichy, Clompanus longifolia, Sterculia macrocarpa, Southwellia longifolia, Siphoniopsis monoica, Bichea solitaria, Braxipis grandiflora, Bichea sulcata, Edwardia acuminata, Helicteres paniculata, Edwardia lurida, Cola acuminata var. trichandra
Western Herbalism Properties
Traditional Uses
The kola nut is one of the most culturally important stimulant masticatories of West Africa, chewed before work, travel, and social gatherings to allay hunger, fatigue, and thirst, and ceremonially exchanged at marriages, funerals, and the reception of guests across Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, and other peoples (Burkill, 1995; Iwu, 2014). Folk medicinal applications include use as a tonic for convalescence, a stimulant in debility, and an aid for headache and dyspepsia. In Western medicine kola was admitted to the British and U.S. Pharmacopoeias and described by Felter & Lloyd (1898) and King's Dispensatory as a cerebral and cardiac stimulant, nerve tonic, and adjunct in depression, neurasthenia, and migraine; tinctures and fluid extracts of kola were once widely prescribed.
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Botanical Description
Cola acuminata, the kola or abata cola, is an evergreen tree of the Malvaceae (formerly Sterculiaceae) reaching 12–20 m tall, native to the lowland forests of West and Central Africa from Sierra Leone and Nigeria to Cameroon, Gabon, and the Congo Basin. The trunk is straight with grey bark; leaves are alternate, simple, oblong-elliptic, 10–30 cm long, leathery, with a markedly acuminate apex. Small yellow to cream flowers, marked with purplish-red inside, are clustered in axillary panicles. The fruit is a star-shaped aggregate of 3–5 woody follicles, each containing 4–10 large seeds (the 'kola nuts'), which are white, pink, or red and split into 4–6 cotyledons when fresh. The seeds contain caffeine (1.5–3%), theobromine, and kolanin, and have long been chewed across West Africa as a stimulant and offered ceremonially.
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any herbal remedy, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medications.
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