Chinchona

The name Cinchona is derived from the South American words quina or quina-quina, which were used for the bark of Cinchona trees. When the bark reached Europe during the seventeenth century, these names gradually evolved into various European forms of the word cinchona.

Cinchona is regarded as one of the world's most important medicinal plants. Its bark contains several alkaloids, including quinine, which is effective against malaria. The substance quinine takes its name from cinchona bark, not the other way around.

The Indigenous peoples of the Andes were familiar with the medicinal properties of the bark long before the arrival of Europeans. During the seventeenth century, the bark was exported to Europe. For centuries, bark from cinchona trees was the only effective treatment for malaria and saved countless lives around the world. In the early nineteenth century, chemists succeeded in isolating quinine, making it possible to administer more precise and reliable doses. Quinine is still used today to treat certain forms of malaria, although in many cases it has been replaced by newer medicines.

Quinine's characteristic bitter taste is also familiar from tonic water, which was originally developed as a way of consuming quinine in tropical regions, often mixed with gin.

The Name

The genus Cinchona is thought to be named after the Spanish Countess of Chinchón, who, according to an old story, was cured of a fever using bark from the tree in Peru during the seventeenth century. The species name officinalis means "medicinal" or "used in pharmacies" and is frequently applied to plants with a long history of medicinal use.

Facts

Location in the Greenhouses: The Montane Forest House

Common name: Cinchona

Scientific name: Cinchona officinalis

Family: Coffee family (Rubiaceae)

Natural distribution: The Andes of Ecuador

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