Cinchona pubescens
Cinchona pubescens
Safety & Hazards
None known
Cultivation Details
A plant of moderate elevations in the moist tropics, where it is found at elevations from 800 - 3,500 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 17 - 25°c, but can tolerate 9 - 28°c[1]. It can be killed by temperatures of 5°c or lower[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,500 - 3,500mm, but tolerates 1,400 - 4,000mm[1]. Requires a well-drained, moist soil and a position in full sun or partial shade[2, 1]. It grows very poorly or not at all on soils that have been exposed to fire[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6, tolerating 4.5 - 6.5[1]. A fast-growing tree, the plants start flowering after 2 - 3 years, and are uprooted and harvested after 8 - 12 years[1]. In commercial plantations, the trees are coppiced when about 6 years old[2].
Propagation
Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Cinchona+pubescens>
Pollinators
Bees, Butterflies
References
- [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
- [2]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
- [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
- [4]The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants — Chevallier. A. · Dorling Kindersley. London · 1996 · ISBN 9-780751-303148 ↩︎An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
- [5]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
- [6]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.