Medicinal and Aromatic Crops

Description of the plant

 
Cinchona spp (x =17) are evergreen shrubs or trees. The leaves are opposite, simple entire; the stipules are interpetiolar and deciduous. The inflorescence is a terminal panicle. The flowers are small and fragrant the calyx is small united and has pointed lobes; the corolla is tubular with 5 spreading lobes and a frill of hairs along the margins, it is heterostylous. In microstyled plants, 5 exerted anthers alternate with corolla lobes while the bifid stigma reaches half the length of the corolla tube. In macrostyled plants, the stamens are half the length of the corolla tube and the stigma is exerted. The fruit is a capsule, dehiscing from the base upwards with 40-50 small. Seeds are flat and winged.



The following are the commercial species.
a. C. succirubra Pav.ex kl.

It attains a height of 40-50 ft or more. This species has a red bark. The quinine content in the bark of this species is very poor (0.5 to 1.5%). The species is vigorous and grows well between 660 to 1800 m (2000 and 6000 ft) altitude. The species is possibly a variety of C.pubescens.
b. C. officinalis L.

This species is well suited for the higher altitudes of South India and flourishes well at elevations of 1800 to 2420 m (6000-8000 ft). It is a slender tree, 20-30 ft high. It is the source of Crown or ‘Loxa bark’. The quinine content of the bark ranges from 1.5 to 2.0%. The species is indigenous to the mountains of Colombia and Peru.

c. C. ledgeriana Moens and Tremen

This is a weak but fast growing species, attaining a maximum height of about 20 ft. and it can be grown between 900 to 1800 m (3000-6000 ft) elevations. It is a source of ‘Ledger bark’ or ‘Yellow bark which is the richest in quinine (4 to 5%) the quinine content is occasionally as high as 14%. This species is considered either a hybrid between high-yielding varieties like C.calisaya and C.succirubra or a complex hybrid between C.calisaya, C.succirubra and C.lancifolia.

d. C.robusta
The origin of this species is uncertain, but it is presumed to be a hybrid between C.succirubra and C.officinalis. In India, it is grown in the Darjeeling Hills, West Bengal, and can be grown in places with an elevation of up to 1510 m (5000 ft). The average quinine content of the bark is about 2%.
e. C. hybrida
This vigorous growing hybrid is a cross between C. succirubra and C. ledgeriana. The yield of bark is high and the quinine content varies from 2 to 2.5%.