| Cola greenwayi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cola greenwayi at Nibela Peninsula | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Genus: | Cola |
| Species: | C. greenwayi |
| Binomial name | |
| Cola greenwayi | |
| Synonyms | |
Cola microcarpa | |
Cola greenwayi, commonly known as hairy cola[1] or Zulu coshwood,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It was first described in 1956 by the British botanist John Patrick Micklethwait Brenan.[3] It is native to southeastern Africa.
Cola greenwayi is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree growing to around 20 m (66 ft), either monoecious or dioecious. The smaller branches and twigs are brown and densely hairy at first. The leaves are alternate, purplish-brown when young and dark green and leathery when older, up to 15 by 5 cm (6 by 2 in). They are stalked, simple, elliptical or oblanceolate, and have prominent veins. There is a hairy swelling known as a pulvinus at the base of each leaf-blade, which acts as a hinge. The flowers are in clusters growing in the axils of the leaves. They have small, rusty-brown, hairy bracts. The calyx has four to six lobes and there are no petals. The four to five carpels turn yellowish-orange when ripe, making a sub-globose fruit, hairy at first, and later with a thin, brittle rind. It usually contains one or two seeds.[1][4]
This tree is native to southeastern Africa, its range extending from Kenya and Tanzania southwards to Zimbabwe and Mozambique,[1] Transvaal and eastern KwaZulu-Natal. Its habitat is dense forest, often on steep slopes, from sea level up to about 1,100 m (3,600 ft).[4] It is also part of the typical flora of the Southern African Sand Forest which grows on ancient sand dunes on the border of northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique.[5]
Two varieties are accepted:[6]
Media related to Cola greenwayi at Wikimedia Commons