Rank Species | Genus Cinchona Higher classification Quina | |
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Similar Quina, Cinchona officinalis, Rubiaceae, Carapichea ipecacuanha, Croton eluteria | ||
Cinchona pubescens, also known as red cinchona and quina ((Spanish) Cascarilla, cinchona; (Portuguese) Quina-do-Amazonas, quineira), is native to Central and South America. It is known as a medicinal plant for its bark's high quinine content- and has similar uses to Cinchona officinalis in the production of quinine, most famously used for treatment of malaria.
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Distribution
Cinchona pubescens has the widest distribution of all Cinchona species, with the native range spanning Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. In Ecuador it is distributed within an altitude from 300–3,900 metres (980–12,800 ft).
Invasive species
It has become an invasive species where planted outside of its native range, especially on tropical climate islands.
In the Galapagos it has become a dominant species in the formerly shrub dominated Miconia and Fern-Sedge zones on Santa Cruz Island. It has been subject to control in the Galapagos National Park to reduce its impacts using a variety of methods. However, controlling it over its total range on Santa Cruz island would cost several million US dollars according to research done through the Charles Darwin Foundation.
It is also invasive in Hawaii, on Maui and the Big Island
