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Erythroxylon Coca, Lam. Shrub, 5-6 ft. high, with rusty brown, slender branches, on the extreme tips of which the Lvs. are borne: below the Lvs., on the wood of the preceding year, which is reddish, clusters of 3-5 yellow 5-lobed fls. ¼ in. across spring from the protection of the small scales that line the branchlets, and which are colored like the bark: Lvs. oval, obovate or elliptical, differing in different cult. strains or varieties, about 1½-2½ in. long and marked on the under side with 2 lines extending on either side of the midrib from base to apex. Native country uncertain; the earliest described form, which happens to be Peruvian, was named by Lamarck Erythroxylum Coca, and figured in B.M. 7334. The Lvs. of this form are about 2½ in. long, oblong- obovate, tapering to a short stalk, rounded at the apex, the midrib extending beyond into a short, sharp point. Coca is grown commercially on a large scale throughout S. Amer., and also in Java and Ceylon. There are 2 leading commercial varieties, according to Kraemer,— the Bolivian or Huanco, and the Peruvian or Truxillo. The lvs. are picked when fully grown, and quickly dried in the sun. The shrub is said to require for its best development a very humid atmosphere and comparatively high elevation. Coca should not be confused with cocoa and cacao, which are discussed under Theobroma. L. H. B.
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#REDIRECT [[Coca]]
#REDIRECT [[Coca]]