What is Cinchona pubescens?
{{italictitle}} {{taxobox |image = Cinchona.pubescens01.jpg |regnum = [[Plantae]] |unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]] |unranked_classis = [[Eudicots]] |unranked_ordo = [[Asterids]] |ordo = [[Gentianales]] |familia = [[Rubiaceae]] |genus = '''Cinchona''' |binomial = ''Cinchona pubescens'' |binomial_authority = [[Martin Vahl|Vahl]], 1790}} '''''Cinchona pubescens''''', the '''Quinine Tree''', is known for because its bark has a lot of [[quinine]].<ref name=miss>{{Cite web |url= http://www.mobot.org/tours/medicinal_plants/quinine.asp |title=Medicinal Plants at the Missouri Botanical Garden |work=mobot.org |access-date=11 July 2010 }}</ref> It has similar uses to ''[[Cinchona officinalis]]'' in making quinine, used for treatment of [[malaria]]. <ref name=miss/> It is native to [[Costa Rica]], [[Venezuela]], [[Ecuador]], [[Peru]] and [[Bolivia]]. In Ecuador, ''C. pubescens'' is found at altitudes from 300 to 3900 m above [[sea level]]. It grows to about 10 metres in height.<ref name=issg/> It has the widest distribution of all '''Cinchona''' [[species]] <ref name=issg>{{Cite web |url=http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?fr=1&si=63 |title=issg Database: Ecology of Cinchona pubescens |work=issg.org |access-date=11 July 2010 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927224157/http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?fr=1&si=63 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Planted on other tropical islands it has become an [[invasive species]].<ref name=issg/> It grows quickly, and spreads by both seeds and root suckers. Other plants are unable to grow in the shade that it creates.<ref name=issg/> In the [[Galapagos Islands]] the tree was planted by farmers as a crop for the quinine.<ref name=issg/> It has become a dominant species on Santa Cruz Island, taking over from the shrub Miconia and Fern-Sedges. It is also invasive in [[Hawaii]] on [[Maui]] and the [[Oahu|Big Island]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hear.org/pier/species/cinchona_pubescens.htm |title=Cinchona p