Quechua people Quinine, which is found naturally in bark of cinchona tree, is known to be used by Quechuas people for malaria-like symptoms. When chewed, coca acts as a mild stimulant and suppresses hunger, thirst, pain, and fatigue; it is also used to alleviate altitude sickness. Coca leaves are the raw material from which cocaine, one of Peru's most historically important exports, is chemically extracted. Many indigenous women wear the colorful traditional costume, complete with bowler style hat. The hat has been worn by Quechua and Aymara women since the 1920s, when it was brought to the country by British railway workers.
Cinchona prefer the pronunciation for the common name of the plant. The national tree of Peru is in the genus "Cinchona". "Cinchona" plants belong to the family Rubiaceae and are large shrubs or small trees with evergreen foliage, growing in height. The leaves are opposite, rounded to lanceolate and 10–40 cm long. The flowers are white, pink or red, produced in terminal panicles. The fruit is a small capsule containing numerous seeds. A key character of the genus is that the flowers have marginally hairy corolla lobes. The tribe Cinchoneae includes other genera "Cinchonopsis", "Jossia", "Ladenbergia", "Remijia", "Stilpnophyllum", and "Ciliosemina". In