What does a bitter kola tree look like? What about the fruit, and the seeds inside it? Most people in the US only ever see the finished nut. This page shows the whole plant, from the tree to the fruit to the seed, with real pictures of bitter kola.
Bitter kola is the seed of Garcinia kola, a tree in the same family as the mangosteen. You may know the nut as orogbo (Yoruba), aku ilu (Igbo), miji goro (Hausa) or petit cola (French).
The bitter kola tree
- A big forest tree. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, describes it as a forest tree that can reach about 90 feet.
- Where it grows. Its native range runs from West Africa down to Angola, mainly in the wet tropics.
- Flowers. Greenish-white, with fine reddish hairs.
- Leaves. In a study of bitter kola trees in Cameroon, most leaves were oblong.
- Often planted on purpose. In the same study, most trees had been planted by farmers, mainly on cocoa farms and in home gardens.
Want to know how long a tree takes before it fruits? Read how long does it take bitter kola to grow.
The bitter kola fruit
- Size. About the size of an orange.
- Colour. Kew describes the ripe fruit as reddish-yellow. In the pictures on this page you can see the range, from green to yellow, orange and red.
- Skin. Smooth, with a peach-like look, as you can see in the close-up below.
- Inside. Orange-yellow or reddish pulp, with the seeds sitting in the middle.
The bitter kola seeds: the nut you buy
The bitter kola nut is the seed of this fruit. Open a fruit and the seeds sit inside the orange pulp.
- How many per fruit. Usually two or three. The Cameroon study counted 759 fruits and found an average of 2.4 seeds per fruit.
- The outside. A brown seed coat with branching lines. This is the skin you peel off before you eat it.
- The inside. A pale kernel with tiny pockets of resin.
The seeds are taken out of the fruit and prepared using our proprietary method. They reach you whole and unpeeled, the way bitter kola is served to guests: each person peels their own. Read how to eat bitter kola.
Bitter kola tree, fruit and seed at a glance
- Plant name: Garcinia kola
- Common names: bitter kola, bitter cola, orogbo, aku ilu, miji goro, petit cola
- Tree: forest tree, up to about 90 feet
- Fruit: orange-sized, smooth skin, reddish-yellow when ripe
- Seeds: about two or three per fruit, brown lined seed coat, pale kernel
Is bitter kola the same as kola nut?
No. Kola nut (obi) comes from a different tree, Cola. Bitter kola comes from Garcinia kola. Read bitter kola vs kola nut.
Questions people ask
What does a bitter kola tree look like?
A tall forest tree with dense green leaves. When it fruits, the branches fill with round fruits that turn from green to yellow, orange and red.
What does bitter kola fruit look like?
Round, about the size of an orange, with smooth, peach-like skin that is reddish-yellow when ripe. Inside is orange-yellow pulp around the seeds.
How many seeds are in a bitter kola fruit?
Usually two or three. One study of 759 fruits found an average of 2.4.
Is the bitter kola nut a seed?
Yes. The nut you buy and chew is the seed of the bitter kola fruit.
Where can I buy bitter kola in the US?
Right here. JEB FOODS African Bitter Kola Nut, 0.5 lb comes whole and unpeeled, and JEB FOODS African Bitter Kola Powder, 4 oz is ready to stir into drinks and food. Both ship free across the US. See also where to buy bitter kola.
Part of the profit funds our nonprofit organization, Save All Africa Kids (saak.org).
Sources
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Garcinia kola Heckel. Plants of the World Online.
- Maňourová A, Lojka B, Leuner O, et al. Diversity and Nutritional Characteristics of Garcinia kola in Southwest Cameroon. Tropentag 2017, Bonn.