Botanical and Ethnobotanical Notes on Cola Plant

[-bijanto-]

I've arranged information from various resources into one note, hope it will be useful as one of your references

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There are at least 2 commercially important species of Cola that are known by the Yoruba people of Nigeria: nitida and acuminata. In Yoruba area of Nigeria, Cola nitida is known as 'gbanja', while Cola acuminata is known as 'abata'.

Cola nitida, characterized with nuts of two cotyledons (dicotyledonous) is, however, of much greater commercial importance since the seeds (the ‘gbanja’ colanuts) are in higher demand for local use and for export. Before the colonial period, it was brought from Ghana to Nigeria by long-distance traders via the Gonja kingdom, from which its name derives.

Cola acuminata (the ‘abata’ colanut) is characterized with more than two cotyledons, and may have six or more (McIlroy, 1963). It is indigenous to the Yoruba area, and up until today still has high social, religious and ceremonial values among the various tribes. Its involvement in trade at the moment is of local significance.

According to Yoruba's tradition, for a man's first marriage, his parents and extended family makes the arrangements, found the girl, and paid the bride-price. The bride-price was usually paid in two installments, the ijowun and the idana. The ijowun consisted of pepper, kolas, beer, wine, gin, cola, and honey. It was paid when the girl's parents accepted the man for their daughter, and it legally sealed the engagement. The second installment, the idana, included the same things as the ijowun plus some cloth wrappers.

Bride wealth served several important purposes. Legally, it was the most important factor to be settled in the event of a divorce: to divorce her husband, a woman must return his bride wealth. It represented the commitment to the marriage by both individuals and their families, and it was a safeguard against breaking that commitment. It kept the wife from cheating on or disrespecting her husband because it would have to be repaid for her to leave him. It also prevented the husband from mistreating his wife because he had made a large financial investment in her. Finally, the bride-price legally established the woman's husband as the father of her children. A proverb about this says, " One who does not own a cola tree cannot have its fruit "

The naming ceremony is an important affair among the Yorubas. It is an ancient practice that holds many purposes such as giving a child its name, welcoming the child into the community, congratulating the parents for such a happy and fortunate time (a divine blessing acknowledged), and making predictions for the child’s future.

The water is the first of many ceremonial items to be introduced to the child. The Yoruba people generally believe that “when they present certain materials to the child at the beginning of his life, he/she will make positive use and not negative use of them when he becomes an adult”. Water is used because it is very important to people. It’s use in the ceremony reflects the importance of the child to his/her family. After the child is sprinkled with water the elder whispers the child’s new name into its ear. Next, the elder dips his finger into the water and upon touching the child’s forehead he announces the new name to everyone present. The elder then turns to seven specially filled vessels. Within these vessels each ingredient constitutes a unique symbol in the ontological world of the Yorubas into which the child is being initiated.

The first vessel consists of red pepper of which the elder gives a small taste to the child. The pepper symbolizes that the child will be resolute and have command over the forces of nature. The pepper is then passed around for the entire assemblage to taste. After the pepper, the child tastes water, signifying purity of body and spirit (freedom from disease). Next, the elder offers a taste of salt which symbolizes the flavor of wisdom and intelligence of which it is wished that the child is divinely fed. Another view of the salt’s importance leans toward the importance of salt to any food for its palatability. This is used to correspond to the child’s generally perceived importance to the community. “When any person is said to be as salt to his people, it means he brings joy, happiness, and even sweetness where there is bitterness “. Following the salt, comes palm oil which is touched to the child’s lips, a wish for power and health like that of royalty. The child then tastes honey signifying for the child to be as sweet as honey to his/her community, to have happiness, and, most importantly, for him/her not to be ostracized by his/her people when the child has grown to adulthood. After honey, liquor or wine flavors the child’s lips for all the wealth and prosperity that the child will have.

Finally, the child is given a taste of cola nut, symbolic of a wish for the child’s good fortune. The parents, particularly the father, may add materials to the ceremony after the seven basic ingredients have been introduced to the child. Extra materials may include objects that symbolize the clan deity of the family. For example: “Ogun,” god of iron; the parent may require that a knife or sword be used in the ceremony. After the final item has been passed around to all guests the ritual is complete and the festivities begin. Feasting (brief ceremonial food list provided after this report), dancing, and rejoicing will last into the early hours of the next day.

The genus Cola belongs to the family Sterculiaceae and is one of the economically important genera of this family. According to Bodard (1962), the genus comprises about 90 species of which 50 have been described in West Africa , its centre of greatest diversity. In Nigeria , Cola nitida and Cola acuminata are the two main commercial species. Both species bear a striking resemblance to each other and are cultivated for their edible seeds (cola nuts).

The cultivation of cola in Nigeria started around 1900. Consequently large populations of C. nitida were introduced into the country from their area of natural occurrence in Ghana and Sierra Leone for experimental and commercial purposes. By 1960 the population of cola trees in Nigeria had risen to about 20 million, made up of predominantly C. nitida materials. The trees were highly heterogeneous and possessed extreme variability in yield as well as other commercial qualities.

Seeds of a large number of tropical tree species are reported recalcitrant (Roberts 1973) because they are very sensitive to desiccation. The seeds of the Cola spp. fall into this category as the cola nut can only be conserved for a short period (weeks to months), even under optimal moisture conditions, before losing its viability.

According to a research conducted by The International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (3), seed storage behaviour in Cola spp. is not entirely clear: the seeds are treated as recalcitrant (that is they are not dried) but, if they are recalcitrant, then they are some of the longest-lived recalcitrant species so far reported.

Seeds of Cola spp. can show considerable dormancy. Freshly harvested seeds of C. nitida take between 3 and 9 months to germinate whereas completely after-ripened seeds are reported to germinate immediately. After-ripening periods of between 3 months and 1 year are reported to be required to remove dormancy. The after-ripening treatments were carried out in moist environments (e.g. undried nuts in a polyethylene bag). Therefore the success of after-ripening treatments does not provide evidence of orthodox seed storage behaviour.

In freshly harvested seeds of Cola spp. the embryo is 1-1.5 mm long and lies at the deepest point of the basal furrows in the cotyledons which are firmly held together. When placed in contact with a moist medium the nut imbibes moisture but germination may not occur for some weeks or months: only after considerable delays do the embryos begin to develop. If the cotyledons are gently teased apart without damaging their contact with the embryo or the seeds are pre-soaked or the cotyledon tip removed then the embryo imbibes more rapidly and the delay to germination is reduced. Consequently for dormant seeds it is suggested that testa removal and cotyledon parting be practised.

Quite high temperatures are required for germination. A constant temperature of 30C has been reported as optimal. Although continuous exposure to 37C will eventually kill the seeds, warm stratification at 37C for 2 to 3 weeks with subsequent removal to a lower temperature can reduce the time taken by the seeds to germinate - possibly by increasing the embryo's imbibition rate? Diffuse sunlight or fluorescent light are promotory, but direct sunlight (in nursery sowings) can reduce germination. It is suggested that the seeds be tested for germination in moist sand or between moist paper towels at 30C, and recommended that attention be paid to keeping the germination test medium moist throughout the test.

References:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

[ 09. June 2005, 13:08: Message edited by: -bijanto- ]

[planthelper]

this was one of the best readings ever here at sab, thx bijanto!

i particular enjoyed the antrophological info given and how you described the growing of the embryo.

i think that the cola nut has a quite tuff skin, so "nicking" them might help to hasten germination.

i mean a tough skin will avoid water absorbtion, which in turn is needed to trigger germination.

a better form of nicking them might be to scrub them with sandpaper...

later edit added i to mebername as m keyboard is very sticky and i learned misspelling nicks is offensive, isn't it wandjina darling....

[ 09. June 2005, 13:47: Message edited by: planthelper ]

[Rev]

planthelper:

as m keyboard is very sticky  

eeew!

TMI

[Torsten]

excellent bijanto. maintaining 30 degs in winter will be a challenge

[apothecary]

Do you mind if I pop that onto the wiki? Great info.