Common Name:

General Information

Cola lateritia is a deciduous tree usually growing 15 - 30 metres all, occasionally to 50 metres. The straight bole can be up to 30 metres high and 80cm in diameter, it has buttresses 1 - 2 metres wide at the base, though these are sometimes reduced to a flare[].
The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a source of food, medicines, fibre and wood. It is occasionally cultivated[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Guinea to Dr Congo, south to northern Angola.

Habitat

Rainforests, gallery forests and secondary forests at elevations up to 1,000 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	25.00 m
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

Fruit. The pulp is eaten[]. The red or pink fruit consists of usually 4 indehiscent follicles, on a robust, 7 - 10cm long pedicel; the follicles are ovoid to globose, up to 65mm long, with a short and slender beak[].

The seed is chewed in the same way as that of the true kola (mainly Cola acuminata and Cola nitida)[]. The seed is rich in caffeine and is chewed to give energy and increase endurance[].

Leaf buds and young leaves - cooked and eaten as a vegetable[]. They are much appreciated during feasts and initiation ceremonies[].

Medicinal

Sun-dried plant parts are smoked in a pipe for treatment of tuberculosis[].

A preparation of the inner bark is drunk as a remedy for coughs[]. A bark decoction is drunk as a treatment for intercostal pain[].
A bark-decoction is applied as a vaginal douche in a treatment against sterility[]. Eruptions, especially on the nostrils, are treated with an ointment of the inner bark pounded with clay, and by bathing the afflicted parts in a leaf decoction[].

Other Uses

Fibre from the bark is made into cordage[].

The heartwood is pinkish brown, sometimes figured; the sapwood is grey-white. The grain is mostly straight, texture coarse. The wood is tough, strong and flexible, bending without breaking, but is not durable. It is difficult to work and does not give a smooth finish; it splits easily[]. The wood is used in local carpentry and for making casks and bows[]. The wood of the buttresses is considered good for making pails and tubs for household use, and clappers made from the wood are attached to hunting-dogs[].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe. Germination rates are usually high, with the seed sprouting within 6 - 21 days[].

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