The kola nut is the seed of certain species of plant of the genus Cola, placed formerly in the cocoa family Sterculiaceae and now usually subsumed in the mallow family Malvaceae. These cola species are trees native to the tropical rainforests of Africa. Their caffeine-containing seeds are about 5 centimetres (2.0 in) across and are used as flavoring ingredients in various carbonated soft drinks, from which the name cola originates.
Kola nut – pod with half shell removed to reveal prismatic seeds inside their white testa, and fresh seeds (whole without testa on the left and, on the right, split into cotyledons)
Cola acuminata in flower: colored plate from Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen
Cola acuminata in fruit, also from Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen
Kola nuts spread out for sale in the central market in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Theobroma cacao is a small evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. Native to the tropics of the Americas, the largest producer of cocoa beans in 2018 was Ivory Coast, at 2.2 million tons. Its leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–50 cm (4–20 in) long and 5–10 cm (2–4 in) broad.
Theobroma cacao
Closed and open blossom and fruits on the trunk of Theobroma cacao (ÖBG Bayreuth)
Cacao flowers
Theobroma cacao