Guaraná

Paullinia cupana

A climbing vine whose red pods open like eyes; the seeds are caffeine-rich.

Type: vine · tropical and subtropical food plants
Hardiness: zones 11 to 12
Light: part shade
Size: about 30 ft tall, 5 ft wide
Harvest: October to December
From: Central Amazon
Here: Too tender to overwinter outdoors on the Lake Erie shore (zone 6b to 7a): grow it in a pot and bring it in, or treat it as an annual.

Good for: food.

Native to: Tropical South America. Hardy in zones 11 to 12.

The story

Guaraná was domesticated by the Sateré-Mawé people of the lower Amazon, who grate the roasted seed into water as a ceremonial drink and tell of its origin in a child's eye; it holds twice the caffeine of coffee and powers Brazil's national soft drink.

Planting

Part shade, rich, moist, drained soil, heat, and humidity; a woody vine to 30 feet, or a bush if pruned. Plant seed fresh in the wet tropics.

Growing

Keep moist and mulched, give it a trellis or keep it clipped. It fruits in three years.

Harvest and use

Clusters of red pods split in the dry season to show the black seed in a white aril; remove the aril, dry and roast the seeds, and grind.

What to watch for

Drought and cold.

See if Guaraná fits your yard
Free planner: enter your ZIP for frost dates, climate fit and a sowing calendar. No account, no ads, no tracking cookies.

More tropical and subtropical food plants

General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home