The botany of Cinchona has a complex history, in part because of extensive hybridisation, and in part because insufficient good quality specimens have been collected in the native area of the genus, the Andes. Hybridisation is a particular problem in the plantations of India, where different species were often planted close together. Over 330 botanical names have been applied to Cinchona, but the most recent revision (Andersson & Kawasaki 1998) divides the genus into 23 species and 8 hybrids.
| Botanical name | Synonyms (only those represented in Kew specimens) |
| Cinchona calisaya Wedd. | Cinchona amygdalifolia Wedd. |
| Cinchona australis Wedd. | |
| Cinchona calisaya var. boliviana Wedd. | |
| Cinchona calisaya var. josephiana Wedd. | |
| Cinchona calisaya var. ledgeriana Howard | |
| Cinchona calisaya var. oblongifolia Wedd. | |
| Cinchona carabayensis Wedd. | |
| Cinchona hasskarliana Miq. | |
| Cinchona ledgeriana (Howard) Bern. Moens ex Trimen | |
| Cinchona officinalis auct. mult. | |
| Cinchona pahudiana Howard | |
| Cinchona peruviana Howard | |
| Distribution: Southern Peru, Bolivia. Widely cultivated, in India, Java, Jamaica. | |
| Cinchona glandulifera Ruiz. & Pav. | |
| Distribution: Rare, central Peru. | |
| Cinchona hirsuta Ruiz. & Pav. | Cinchona pubescens var. hirsuta Ruiz & Pav. |
| Cinchona calisaya var. rugosa Miq. | |
| Distribution: Rare, in Peru. | |
| Cinchona lancifolia Mutis | Cinchona angustifolia Ruiz |
| Cinchona condaminea var. lancifolia (Mutis) Wedd. | |
| Cinchona lancifolia var. angustifolia (Ruiz)DC. | |
| Cinchona lancifolia var. discolor H. Karst. | |
| Distribution: Venezuela, Colombia, to central Ecuador. Cultivated in Java. | |
| Cinchona lucumifolia Pav. ex Lindl. | Cinchona condaminea var. lucumaefolia (Lindl.) Wedd. |
| Distribution: Southern Ecuador. | |
| Cinchona macrocalyx Pav. ex DC. | Cinchona bonplandiana Klotzsch |
| Cinchona coccinea Pav. | |
| Cinchona erythrantha Pav. | |
| Cinchona heterophylla Pav. | |
| Cinchona pubescens var. heterophylla DC. | |
| Cinchona violacea Pav. | |
| Distribution: Central Ecudaor to northern Peru. Cultivated in the Nilgiris, India. | |
| Cinchona micrantha Ruiz. & Pav. | Cinchona parviflora Poir. |
| Cinchona micrantha var. rotundifolia Wedd. | |
| Cinchona peruviana var. micrantha (Ruiz & Pav.) Howard | |
| Distribution: Peru. | |
| Cinchona mutisii Lamb. | Cinchona microphylla Pav. |
| Distribution: Southern Ecuador. | |
| Cinchona nitida Ruiz. & Pav. | Cinchona lancifolia var. nitida (Ruiz & Pav.) Roem. & Schult. |
| Cinchona peruviana var. nitida (Ruiz & Pav.) Howard | |
| Distribution: Department of Huánuco, Peru. | |
| Cinchona parabolica Pav. | Cinchona mutisii var. crispa Wedd. |
| Distribution: Southern Ecuador to northern Peru. | |
| Cinchona officinalis L. | Cinchona condaminea Humb. & Bonpl. |
| Cinchona obtusifolia Pav. | |
| Cinchona uritusinga Pav. | |
| Cinchona crispa Tafalla | |
| Distribution: Southern Ecuador. Cultivated experimentally in India, Java, Jamaica. | |
| Cinchona pitayensis (Wedd.) Wedd. | Cinchona condaminea var. pitayensis Wedd. |
| Cinchona corymbosa H. Karst. | |
| Distribution: Southern Colombia to central Ecuador. Cultivated in the Nilgiris, India. | |
| Cinchona pubescens Vahl | Cinchona colorata Laubert |
| Cinchona cordifolia Mutis | |
| Cinchona cordifolia var. macrocarpa Wedd. | |
| Cinchona decurrentifolia Pav. | |
| Cinchona lutea Pav. | |
| Cinchona ovata Ruiz & Pav. | |
| Cinchona pelletieriana Wedd. | |
| Cinchona platyphylla Wedd. | |
| Cinchona purpurea Ruiz & Pav. | |
| Cinchona rotundifolia Pav. | |
| Cinchona succirubra Pav. | |
| Distribution: widespread, from central America to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Widely cultivated, especiallysuccirubra strain. | |
| Cinchona scrobiculata Humb. & Bonpl. | Cinchona umbellulifera Pav. |
| Distribution: Rare, northern Peru. | |
| Cinchona villosa Pav. | Cinchona humboldtiana Lamb. |
| Distribution: Rare, southern Ecuador and northern Peru. | |
| Cinchona calisaya Ã- pubescens | |
| Not represented in Kew collection | |
| Cinchona antioquiae L. Andersson | |
| Cinchona asperifolia Wedd. | |
| Cinchona barbacoensis H. Karst | |
| Cinchona capuli L. | |
| Cinchona fruticosa L. Andersson | |
| Cinchona krauseana L. Andersson | |
| Cinchona pyrifolia L. Andersson | |
| Cinchona rugosa Pav. | |
| Cinchona barbacoensis Ã- pubescens | |
| Cinchona lancifolia Ã- pubescens | |
| Cinchona lucumifolia Ã- pubescens | |
| Cinchona macrocalyx Ã- pubescens | |
| Cinchona macrocalyx Ã- rugosa | |
| Cinchona micrantha Ã- pubescens | |
| em>Cinchona officinalis Ã- pubescens |
Further reading
- Andersson, L., and M. L. Kawasaki. 1998. A revision of the genus Cinchona (Rubiaceae-Cinchoneae). Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden 80: 1-75.
- Howard, J. E. 1862. Illustrations of the Nueva quinologia of Pavon. London: L. Reeve.
- Weddell, H. A. 1849. Histoire naturelle des Quinquinas ou monographie du genre quinquina. Paris: Victor Masson, 108pp.
