''Erythroxylum coca'' is one of two species of cultivated

coca Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, Al ...

Description

The coca plant resembles a

blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...

bush, and grows to a height of . The branches are straight, and the leaves, which have a green tint, are thin, opaque, oval, and taper at the extremities. A marked characteristic of the leaf is an areolated portion bounded by two longitudinal curved lines, one line on each side of the midrib, and more conspicuous on the underside of the leaf. The flowers are small, and disposed in little clusters on short stalks; the corolla is composed of five yellowish-white

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s, the

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s are heart-shaped, and the

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

consists of three

carpel Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

s united to form a three-chambered

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

. The flowers mature into red

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

. Unlike ''Erythroxylum novogranatense'', ''Erythroxylum coca'' requires very acidic soil conditions. Soil acidity and water acidity need to be below pH 5.5, with the optimal value being pH 3.5, similar to that of ''

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

potting soil Potting soil or growing media, also known as potting mix or potting compost (UK), is a substrate used to grow plants in containers. The first recorded use of the term is from an 1861 issue of the ''American Agriculturist''. Despite its name, lit ...

s. At pH 6.5 and above,

chlorosis In botany, chlorosis is a condition in which leaves produce insufficient chlorophyll. As chlorophyll is responsible for the green color of leaves, chlorotic leaves are pale, yellow, or yellow-white. The affected plant has little or no ability to ...

and leaf distortion occur. The leaves are sometimes eaten by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of the

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

Eloria noyesi ''Eloria noyesi'', the coca tussock moth, is a moth of the subfamily Lymantriinae Species description, first described by Schaus in 1927. It is beige and its larvae feed on coca plants. It is found mostly in Peru and Colombia. The government of C ...

''. Of the two cultivated species of coca, ''Erythroxylum coca'' has greater resistance to the use of glyphosate as an herbicide than ''Erythroxylum novogranatense''.

Taxonomy

Among the genus ''

Erythroxylum ''Erythroxylum'' (''Erythroxylon'') is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Erythroxylaceae. Many of the approximately 200 species contain the substance cocaine,Bieri S, Brachet A, Veuthey J, Christen P. Cocaine distribution in wild ...

'',

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

-rich leaves are obtained from four taxa: * ''Erythroxylum coca'' var. ''coca'' * ''Erythroxylum coca'' var. ''ipadu'' * ''

Erythroxylum novogranatense ''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' is a neotropical species of '' Erythroxylum'' ( Erythroxylaceae). Cocaine is produced from the leaves. Name "Novogranatense" is derived from Latin: ''novo'' (new) and ''granatense'' (Granada). It was named by Wi ...

'' var. ''novogranatense'' * ''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' var. ''truxillense''

Amazonian coca

''Erythroxylum coca'' var. ''ipadu'', also known as Amazonian coca, is closely related to ''Erythroxylum coca'' var. ''coca'', from which it originated relatively recently.Plowman T. "Botanical Perspectives on Coca." Journal of Psychedelic Drugs. 1979. 11(1-2): 103-117. ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'' does not escape cultivation or survive as a feral or wild plant like ''E. coca'' var. ''coca'' Plowman T. "The Origin, Evolution, and Diffusion of Coca, Erythroxylum spp., in South and Central America." In: Stone D, ed. Pre-Columbian Plant Migration. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Harvard University. Vol 76. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press; 1984. p. 125-163. It has been suggested that due to a lack of genetic isolation to differentiate it from ''E. coca'' var. ''coca'', ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'' may be better defined as a distinct cultivar than a taxonomic variety.Bohm B, Ganders F, Plowman T. Biosystematics and Evolution of Cultivated Coca (Erythroxylaceae). Systematic Botany. 1982; 7(2): 121-133. Unlike the other species of

which are propagated through seeds, ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'', which rarely produce seeds, is propagated through stem cuttings which remain viable for several weeks if kept moist. Since Amazonian coca is vegetatively propagated, entire plantations may be populated from the same clone. ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'' is specially adapted to the shifting agriculture of semi-nomadic Amazonian peoples. Since cuttings of ''E. coca'' var. ''coca'' do not easily root, it is likely that ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'' has been artificially selected for its ease of vegetative propagation. In contrast to the Andean ''E. coca'' var. ''coca'', Amazonian ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'' is typically a weaker plant evidenced by the fact that after a few years plants lose their vigor and easily fall prey to disease or insect infestation. Overharvesting can speed up this process.Plowman T. Amazonian Coca. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 1981. 3: 195 - 225. Amazonian coca is prepared differently than the other three cultivated cocas. After fire-toasting the leaves dry, they are pulverized. Once sifted, the powder is combined with ashes from plants which serve as the necessary alkaline admixture for coca chewing.

References

Citations

Sources

* Turner C. E., Elsohly M. A., Hanuš L., Elsohly H. N. Isolation of dihydrocuscohygrine from Peruvian coca leaves. Phytochemistry 20 (6), 1403-1405 (1981) * ''History of Coca. The Divine Plant of the Incas'' by W. Golden Mortimer, M.D. 576 pp. And/Or Press San Francisco, 1974. This title has no ISBN. *

External links

Coca leaf: Myths and Reality
website of the Transnational Institute (TNI)
Unscheduling the coca leaf
UN Drug Control website of the Transnational Institute (TNI)

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Alcohol and Drugs History Society The Alcohol and Drugs History Society (ADHS) is a scholarly organization whose members study the history of a variety of illegal, regulated, and unregulated drugs such as opium, alcohol, and coffee. Organized in 2004, the ADHS is the successor ...

Erythroxylum coca flower closeup
{{Taxonbar, from=Q158018 coca Flora of the Andes Flora of the Amazon Flora of western South America Crops originating from the Americas Medicinal plants of South America Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Coca Bolivian culture