66 



Plate XXXI. 



Coffea arahica. 



ARABIAN COFFEE. 



The Coffee-tree is said to be a native of Abyssinia. Two 

 species, the Arabian and the Liberian, are now cultivated through- 

 out the tropics. The use of coffee was known in Arabia long 

 before it was introduced to Europeans in the sixteenth century. 

 The Dutch were the first to introduce the plant into Europe. The 

 Arabian Coffee-tree is low-growing, and bears one crop annually ; 

 its leaves are elliptico-oblong, acuminate, generally from 3-6 

 inches long, and are thin and shiny. The white flowers appear in 

 clusters, and are very fragrant. The berries are ovoid, fleshy 

 and bright red. In this berry, are found the two seeds, which 

 constitute the coffee of commerce. The Coffee-tree was intro- 

 duced into Hawaii about 1823, by a Frenchman, who established 

 a. small plantation in Manoa Valley, Oahu. The tree is now well 

 naturalized in the woods of Kona, Hawaii, and elsewhere in the 

 Islands, and flourishes up to an elevation of from 1000-2C00 feet. 



G. P IV. Collection, 



