man, 1979a). Archeological and ethnohistorical evidence dem- 
onstrates that Trujillo coca was once cultivated in most if not all 
the coastal river valleys of Peru (Rostworowski, 1973). 
In the pharmaceutical trade, Trujillo coca has also been 
referred to as “small-leaved” or “Peruvian” coca to distinguish it 
from “Bolivian” or “Huanuco” coca (referring to the species 
Erythroxylum Coca). Even in pre-Conquest Peru, Trujillo coca 
was recognized as a distinct variety and was called “tupa” coca, 
meaning “royal” or “noble” coca, to distinguish it from “mamox” 
coca, which was the name applied to the “large leaved” coca 
grown on the eastern slopes of the Andes, i.e. E. Coca (Rostwo- 
rowski, 1973; Plowman, 1979a). 
Trujillo coca is still cultivated on a small scale, especially in 
the region around Trujillo on the north coast of Peru. It consti- 
tutes less than 5% of the total coca production in Peru but is the 
principal variety used in the beverage industry owing to its high 
content of essential oils and flavors. 
The identity of Trujillo coca became the object of much 
debate and confusion when the leaf first appeared in world phar- 
maceutical markets in the 1880’s. The controversy centered on 
the botanical identification of the sundry commercial varieties of 
coca and involved a number of prominent botanists and phar- 
macists of the day, including E. R. Squibb, E. M. Holmes, D. 
Morris, W. Burck and H. H. Rusby. The history of this contro- 
versy is long and complicated and resembles the early attempts 
to identify the botanical sources of quinine and curare. 
Much of the difficulty in identifying commercial coca leaves 
stemmed from the lack of experience of early workers with the 
plants in the field. Instead, they were attempting to describe and 
name samples of dried leaves encountered in commerce or iso- 
lated living plants of unknown provenience, cultivated in conser- 
vatories and experimental gardens. 
My purpose here is not to elaborate all the intriguing details in 
the history of the identification of coca. This will be treated in 
depth in a separate paper which is in preparation. However, it is 
necessary to describe the events which have obfuscated the iden- 
tification of Trujillo coca, in order to clarify its present taxo- 
nomic position and correct name. 
As early as 1889, Trujillo coca was associated with Erythroxy- 
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