Kola Nut

The kola nut is the seed of trees in the genus Cola, native to Africa's tropical rainforests, borne inside a star-shaped fruit on an evergreen tree that grows to about 20 meters with cream-white, purple-marked flowers; each fruit measures roughly five centimeters and holds prismatic seeds with a sweet, rose-like aroma inside a white shell. The seeds contain about 2 to 4 percent caffeine and theobromine along with tannins, alkaloids, saponins and flavonoids, making them a natural stimulant, and laborers have long chewed them to fight fatigue and hunger. They carry deep cultural significance in West Africa, presented to chiefs and guests and planted on graves as part of various rituals, and the commercial soft drink category cola takes its name directly from the plant.