Cinchona pubescens hence its nickname the red quinine tree. Its flowers form in large panicles. They are pink and fragrant, while in the Galapagos they are light pink. "C. 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 . It also grows well in volcanic soil with high nutrient levels. C. pubescens is a resilient species that is able to recover from even extreme damage. If the tree is felled but the stump is left, it can grow back
Cinchona people. Italian sources spelt Quina as Cina which was a source of confusion with "Smilax" from China. Haggis argued that Qina and Jesuit's bark actually referred to "Myroxylon peruiferum" or Peruvian balsam and that this was an item of importance in Spanish trade in the 1500s. Over time, the bark of the "Myroxylon" was adulterated with the similar looking bark of what we now know as "Cinchona". Gradually the adulterant became the main product that was the key therapeutic ingredient used in malarial therapy. The bark was included as "Cortex Peruanus" in the London Pharmacopoeia in 1677. The "fever tree"