western Puerto Rico and other islands, has elliptic 

 or ovate leaves 2-5 inches lon^r, slightly thickened, 

 dull green, with petioles about 14 inch long, and 

 white flowers about % inch long. 

 A closely related rare species {Anfirh-ea portori- 



cens'iH (Britton & Wilson) Standi.; synonym 

 Stenoxtonnan portoricense Bi-itton & Wilson), of 

 northern Puerto Rico, dilTers in its petioles %-% 

 inch long and 4-celled elliptic fruit % inch long 

 and Vi inch in diameter. 



MADDER FAMILY (RUBIACEAE) 



240. Cafe, coffee 



Coffea arabica L.* 



This familiar cultivated shrub, the source of 

 one of the world's most popular beverages, some- 

 times becomes a small tree and is sufficiently com- 

 mon and important for inclusion here. Cotl'ee is 

 characterized by : ( 1 ) opposite, elliptic, shiny 

 dark green leaves, commonly long-pointed at apex 

 and short-pointed at base, and with undulating 

 upper surface, the veins sunken, on long slender 

 spreading and slightly drooping twigs; (2) white 

 fragrant flowers IVa iriches across the 5 long corolla 

 lobes, several together and almost stalkless at leaf 

 bases along a twig; and (3) elliptic red berries 

 V2~% inch long, containing usually 2 large brown 

 seeds, the coifee beans. 



Generally a compact shrub 5-10 feet high but in 

 age and if not pruned back becoming a small tree 

 12-15 feet high and 2-3 inches in trunk diameter, 

 evergreen with spreading foliage. The bark is 

 light gray, thin, mucli fissured, and becoming 

 rough. Inner bark is whitish and tasteless. From 

 the main axis extend many twigs, green when 

 young but changing to light brown, with paired 

 long-pointed scales (stipules) %6 inch long at 

 nodes. 



Petioles are %-!/•> inch long, and blades 3-7 

 inches long and ^Vo-'^'^A inches broad, the edges 

 often slightly wavy, a little thickened, hairless, 

 paler green beneath. 



Flowei-s are clustered on short, stalks about Vg 

 inch long. The calyx consists of 5 minute teeth on 

 the green tubular base (hypanthium) less than i/g 

 inch long ; the showy corolla has a narrow cylin- 

 drical tube %-i/^ inch long and 5 widely spread- 

 ing, narrow, pointed lobes % inch long; there are 

 5 white stamens inserted in mouth of corolla tube; 

 and pistil with 2-celled inferior ovai-y and slender 

 2- forked white style. 



The coffee berries have a thin fleshy pulp and 

 2 (sometimes 1) elliptic seeds or beans %6-% 

 inch long, flattened on the side where they join. 

 There are about 1,000 seeds to a pound. Flower- 

 ing mainly in spring from March to June and 

 maturing fruits for harvest from September to 

 December. 



The wood is whitish, hard, heavy, and tough. 

 It is little used in Puerto Rico. 



Coffee is one of the most important agricultur- 

 al products exported from tropical America. 

 The shrubs are widely cultivated in tropical 

 regions for their seeds, which contain cail'ein and 

 are roasted and ground to produce the drink of 

 the same name. This is the most widely grown of 

 several species. There are many varieties. It is 

 reported that in the New World coffee was intro- 

 duced first into Surinam by the Dutch in 1714, 

 into Jamaica in 1718, Martinique in 1720, and 

 Brazil in 1727. 



In the mountainous areas of Puerto Rico, coffee 

 is one of the principal crops. Coffee plantations 

 are located in the mountains chiefly at elevations 

 between 800 and 3,000 feet, on an area of about 

 175,000 acres. Tlie shrubs are grown under 

 shade trees, chiefly guaba (Inga vera Willd.) and 

 guama (Inga Jmirlna (Sw.) Willd.). These 

 plantations protect the soil and reduce erosion on 

 mountain slopes. Because of its many large 

 flowers, coffee is also a honey plant, producing 

 white honey with a characteristic flavor. 



Planted and escaping from cultivation in 

 Puerto Rico. Also to a limited extent in St. 

 Croix, St. Thomas, St. John, and Tortola. 



R.\NGE. — Native of Abyssinia but early intro- 

 duced into Arabia (14th century) and extensive- 

 ly planted and escaping through the tropics. 

 Cultivated and escaping or naturalized in 

 Bermuda and most of West Indies from Cuba 

 and Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago. Also from 

 Mexico and Central America south to Brazil. 

 Grown as a novelty or ornamental shrub in 

 southern Florida and southern California. 



Other common names. — cafe, cafeto (Span- 

 ish) ; coffee, Arabian coffee (English) ; cafe, 

 cafeier (French); koffie (Dutch); cafe (Brazil). 



Other species and varieties of coffee have 

 been introduced experimentally in Puerto Rico. 

 Dewevre coffee or cafe excelsa {Coffea deioevrei 

 Wildem. & T. Dur.*), sometimes planted, is a 

 small tree 20 feet high and 4 inches in trunk 

 diameter or larger unless pruned. It has large 

 elliptic leaves 9-14 inches long and 3i^-6 inches 

 wide, leathery, dark green, and slightly shiny; 

 white flowers with corolla of 5-7 lobes; and red- 

 dish-yellow berries. 



506 



