THE COFFICE PLANT. 



83 



high. The dark leaves are opposite 

 and decussate, and tlae white, 

 orange-scented lio\\'ers are crowd- 

 ed into tlie axils of the upper 

 -^ leaves. The dark red ber- 



"■"■>^^ ries which are the size 



of cherries, contain the so- 



> 



called coffee beans. The Coffee 

 plant takes its name from the 

 f^y^J liih\' countr\- in Abys- 

 sinia called "Kafa". 

 The Southern pro- 

 vinces of Upper AbA's- 

 smia are generalh" consi- 

 ^•^ dered to be tlie home of 

 the Arabian Coffee plant: re- 

 cently, however, it has been found 

 wild near Lake Mctoria N\'anza and 

 in West Africa, so that Central Africa may well have 

 been its original home. Africa has latch' given us a 

 second kind of Coffee plant, Coffca liberica. This tree 

 grows at a lower elevation than the other, and inhabits 

 the tropical coast districts. It is more sensitive to 

 changes of temperature but stands the sea winds better 

 than the other Coffee plant. The cultivation of this 

 tree is increasing in tropical countries on account of the 

 size and superior aroma of its berries. 



A shrub belonging to the Celastraceae, which is 

 cultivated in the Coffee gardens of Arabia and Abys- 

 sinia, mav be seen at La Mortola. It is much branched. 



Cistti^ alhidus. 



