First Fruiting of Cola Nut (Cola acuminata)

[fruitlovers]

This tree is about 8+ years old:



I got original seeds from this pod from a local tree:

[LivingParadise]

Very cool looking! Do you have plans to use it, or did you just grow it out of curiosity?

[fruitlovers]

Very cool looking! Do you have plans to use it, or did you just grow it out of curiosity?

Mostly curiosity. But i might try chewing a few, like they do in Africa.

[LivingParadise]

Mostly curiosity. But i might try chewing a few, like they do in Africa.

Just be cautious about your use. I am very close with someone who is a researcher on cola nut, and it is a plant with a fascinating history and biology. However, it is a very powerful plant, and people can suffer very serious health effects if they have a range of conditions which are incompatible with use of the cola nut. Here is an article from Ghana that discusses some of the benefits and consequences of cola nut use:
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/The-Pros-Cons-of-Kola-Nuts-176328

It is not something to take recreationally without research first into how it can interact with one's individual medical conditions and current medications.

[HIfarm]

Congrats Oscar!  Several species of cola have an edible aril but I have never heard one way or the other with acuminata?  Is the aril on these edible (palatable)?

John

[buddyguygreen]

nice pictures. So it turned out to be Acuminata, The nitida is very hard to track down. Keep me posted when your seeds are available.

[fruitlovers]

Mostly curiosity. But i might try chewing a few, like they do in Africa.

Just be cautious about your use. I am very close with someone who is a researcher on cola nut, and it is a plant with a fascinating history and biology. However, it is a very powerful plant, and people can suffer very serious health effects if they have a range of conditions which are incompatible with use of the cola nut. Here is an article from Ghana that discusses some of the benefits and consequences of cola nut use:
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/The-Pros-Cons-of-Kola-Nuts-176328

It is not something to take recreationally without research first into how it can interact with one's individual medical conditions and current medications.

Thanks for your concern. It's not like i'm going to start chewing this every day. I'm just going to see what it tastes like. From what i've heard it's very bitter, which i don't like, so not likely to become a fan of this. FYI i don't have an addictive personality.  ........ except for when it comes to planting fruit trees. 

[fruitlovers]

Congrats Oscar!  Several species of cola have an edible aril but I have never heard one way or the other with acuminata?  Is the aril on these edible (palatable)?

John

I don't know (yet). Have never tried it. Will try it and let you know. BTW there are trees at Waiakea experimental station. They are extremely prolfic....nuts all over the ground.

[fruitlovers]

nice pictures. So it turned out to be Acuminata, The nitida is very hard to track down. Keep me posted when your seeds are available.

Turned out i had it labeled as acuminata. But i'm not 100% sure that's what it is. I got it from another local grower and just labeled it that. Do you know what are the distinguishing characterisitcs between these 2 species?

[HIfarm]

HI Oscar,

I'll post a link that deals with both acuminata & nitida so might be helpful -- check our library section.

John

[Finca La Isla]

Nice photos, as usual.  They look like what we call acuminata but I don't remember now how we discarded nitida. 
Cola was brought to Caribbean CR by Jamaicans.  They don't chew the nut like the Africans but instead make a drink they call 'busy tea'.  They don't know the name cola either but refer to it as, 'Busy nut'.
The tea is with milk and sugar, so the bitterness is cut.
Another thing about busy nut is that it is used against 'poisoning' which seems to refer to using it to counter an evil spell.
We have trouble harvesting much cola nut because a local animal, the agouti, is very fond of it.
The aril is palatable.
Peter

[buddyguygreen]

Yes its definitely Acuminata. Read pages 5-9 where it describes both varieties http://carpe.umd.edu/Documents/2001/report-tachieobeng_brown2001.pdf

[fruitlovers]

Yes its definitely Acuminata. Read pages 5-9 where it describes both varieties http://carpe.umd.edu/Documents/2001/report-tachieobeng_brown2001.pdf

Ok thanks. it's interesting also that it says that cola plants are easy to propagate from cuttings.

[fruitlovers]

Congrats Oscar!  Several species of cola have an edible aril but I have never heard one way or the other with acuminata?  Is the aril on these edible (palatable)?

John

Tried eating the Cola acuminata arils for first time. Not only palatable but kind of sweet. Have fresh seeds available now, if anyone is interesed PM me.

[HIfarm]

Tried eating the Cola acuminata arils for first time. Not only palatable but kind of sweet. Have fresh seeds available now, if anyone is interesed PM me.

Thanks for the report.  Is there any flavor profile that they remind you of?  I had heard comparisons to peas & carrots for the arils of monkey colas.

[Orkine]

I grew up with cola nut, part of most traditional ceremonies in most of West Africa.
Don't recall ever having any that I will call sweet.
By the way, the Yorubas call it "Obi Abata".

There is a second seed, also not sweet, often used by elders in ceremonies called "Orogbo" by the Yorubas. (Garcinia Kola, according to sources online).

Interesting to see these being grown elsewhere.

[fruitlovers]

I grew up with cola nut, part of most traditional ceremonies in most of West Africa.
Don't recall ever having any that I will call sweet.
By the way, the Yorubas call it "Obi Abata".

There is a second seed, also not sweet, often used by elders in ceremonies called "Orogbo" by the Yorubas. (Garcinia Kola, according to sources online).

Interesting to see these being grown elsewhere.

We are not talking about the seed, but the pulpy part (aril) around the seed.

[Orkine]

Thanks, I wasn't paying adequate attention.  Still happy to see cola nut being planted and discussed.

[fruitlovers]

Tried eating the Cola acuminata arils for first time. Not only palatable but kind of sweet. Have fresh seeds available now, if anyone is interesed PM me.

Thanks for the report.  Is there any flavor profile that they remind you of?  I had heard comparisons to peas & carrots for the arils of monkey colas.

Doesn't have a vegetable taste, it's more fruity. Kind of like water apple, but not as juicy. If you wait until they split it's kind of pasty, but if you split them open the texture is more crunchy. There is a tiny bit of bitterness, i guess because some of the membrane from the seed sticking to the pulp.