1. a South American tree whose bark contains quinine and other alkaloids used to treat malaria
Usage: botanical
2. the medicinal bark of this tree, used as a source of quinine
Usage: medical

Examples

• Cinchona trees grow naturally in the Andes mountains of South America.
• The discovery of cinchona bark revolutionized the treatment of malaria.
• European colonists called cinchona ‘Jesuit’s bark’ because missionaries used it medicinally.
• Quinine extracted from cinchona became essential for tropical exploration.
• The cinchona plantations in Java supplied much of the world’s quinine.
• Scientists studied the alkaloids found in cinchona bark.
• Without cinchona, many early expeditions to malaria-prone regions would have failed.