Cola greenwayi, commonly known as hairy cola^[1] or Zulu coshwood,^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It was first described in 1956 by the British botanist John Patrick Micklethwait Brenan.^[3] It is native to southeastern Africa.

Quick Facts Cola greenwayi, Scientific classification ...

Cola greenwayi
Cola greenwayi at Nibela Peninsula
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Genus:	Cola
Species:	C. greenwayi
Binomial name
Cola greenwayi Brenan
Synonyms
Cola microcarpa

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Cola greenwayi is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree growing to around 20 m (66 ft), either monoecious or dioecious. The smaller branches and twigs are brown and densely hairy at first. The leaves are alternate, purplish-brown when young and dark green and leathery when older, up to 15 by 5 cm (6 by 2 in). They are stalked, simple, elliptical or oblanceolate, and have prominent veins. There is a hairy swelling known as a pulvinus at the base of each leaf-blade, which acts as a hinge. The flowers are in clusters growing in the axils of the leaves. They have small, rusty-brown, hairy bracts. The calyx has four to six lobes and there are no petals. The four to five carpels turn yellowish-orange when ripe, making a sub-globose fruit, hairy at first, and later with a thin, brittle rind. It usually contains one or two seeds.^[1][4]

This tree is native to southeastern Africa, its range extending from Kenya and Tanzania southwards to Zimbabwe and Mozambique,^[1] Transvaal and eastern KwaZulu-Natal. Its habitat is dense forest, often on steep slopes, from sea level up to about 1,100 m (3,600 ft).^[4] It is also part of the typical flora of the Southern African Sand Forest which grows on ancient sand dunes on the border of northern KwaZulu-Natal and southern Mozambique.^[5]

Two varieties are accepted:^[6]

• Cola greenwayi var. greenwayi
• Cola greenwayi var. keniensis Brenan