Cola greenwayi Brenan

Tree 3-20 m high, monoecious or dioecious; young branchlets russet to light cinnamon brown or grey tomentose at first, mixed with stellate or bunched hairs which fall readily. Stipules very soon falling, subulate-lanceolate to linear, 3-6 mm long, dark to light-brown or grey tomentose. Leaves simple, entire, blade elliptic to narrowly obovate-elliptic, narrowing to base and apex, 4-15 cm long, 1.4-5 cm broad, glabrous at maturity, midrib slender, prominent on both surfaces, with usually 7-18 main lateral veins, distinct to prominent on lower surface; petiole 0.5-5.5 cm long with a thickened pulvinus at the apex, tomentose throughout, with some long hairs as well, becoming glabrous except for the pulvinus which is persistently tomentose. Inflorescence 1-flowered, axillary, solitary or fascicled and crowded on branchlets between the leaves; flowers unisexual, rarely some bisexual, apparently dioecious (may be monoecious), arising from sessile imbricating bracts which are 1.5-3.5 mm long, densely stellate-tomentose without subpersistent; pedicels about 7-20 mm long, (sometimes obscurely articulate), about midway, densely stellate-pubescent, hairs dark to light brown, short or long (as long as the pedicel is broad). Calyx 4-6-lobed almost to the base at flowering time, dorsally stellate-pubescent; lobes from about 5-10 mm long, 2.5-3.5 mm broad, inner face stellate-pubescent at least in upper half lepidote below. Petals 0. Male flower with staminal tube about 2.5-4.5 mm long, densely pubescent to subglabrous; anthers up to 8 in one row, sessile in a ring around the apex of the staminal-tube, rudimentary carpels and styles in the centre of the ring. Female flower with ovary sessile, densely stellate-pubescent, about 2 or 3 mm diam., with a ring of rudimentary stamens around the base, carpels 4-5(3?); styles arising laterally with clavate recurved, papillose stigmas. Carpels 4-5 or less by abortion, orange yellow to deep orange with touch of vermilion when ripe, obliquely subglobose obliquely ellipsoid or obovate, 1 x 1.3 cm to 1.8 x 2 cm rounded on top with the remains of the style-base lateral and obscure, or forming a mucro, stellate pubescent in parts (rubs off easily) with dark to light brown hairs, long bristles, rind at maturity rather thin and brittle; seeds 1-2(coat like that of fruit); cotyledons 2(one smaller than the other, reddish pink tinge between them in fresh fruit); plumule stellate-pubescent.

Moist evergreen forests and dense woodland at elevations from 1,250-2,200 metres.

Can be grown by seedlings.