Garcinia kola Heckel

A medium sized tree. It grows to 12 m high. It can reach 28 m high. The crown is spreading. The trunk is straight. The bark is brown. The branches droop. The leaves are 3.5-14 cm long and 2.5-6 cm wide. They are leathery. The leaf stalk is stout and about 6 mm long. The flowers are greenish-white. The flowers contain both sexes but there are also male flowers. The flowers have fine hairs. The fruit are reddish-yellow. They are 6 cm across. They contain 2-4 brown seeds. These are in an orange coloured pulp. Both the pulp and seed are edible.

An understorey tree of dense rainforest, often in wet situations, riverine and swamp, found at elevations up to 1,200 metres.

The fruit are chewed as a stimulant. They are chewed with Cola nuts. The fruit are very sour but are sometimes eaten. The seed or nut is chewed raw but is bitter. The bark is used in an alcoholic drink. Caution: Alcohol is a cause of cancer.

Seeds are difficult to germinate. They can be harvested fresh and then incubated in a banana stem for 3 weeks. Alternatively a poly-ethylene bag is used.