THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY 

AUGUST,  i go 2. 
COFFEE:  ITS  HISTORY  AND  COMMERCE— AN  OUTLINE, 
By  William  B.  Marshali,. 
I.  BOTANY. 
Generic  name,  Coffea.  Several  species  belong  to  the  genus,  but 
only  two,  C.  Arabica,  L.  and  C.  Libaica,  Hiern.,  have  commercial  value. 
Coffee  belongs  to  the  plant  order  Rubiaceae,  which  includes  also  the 
cinchona  or  quinine  trees,  the  ipecacuanhas,  madders,  bedstraws, 
woodruffs  and  many  other  useful  plants.  Coffee  and  ipecacuanha 
belong  to  the  sub-order  Cinchonacese,  of  which,  as  the  name  would 
indicate,  Cinchona  is  the  type  genus.  All  three  are  famous  for  their 
alkaloids — quinine  in  the  bark  of  cinchona ;  caffeine  in  the  seeds 
and  leaves  of  coffee;  emetine  in  the  root-bark  of  ipecac. 
II.  THE  PLANT. 
(1)  Stem  usually  from  3  inches  to  6  inches  in  diameter.  In  very 
old  trees  it  may  be  more.  Height  of  tree  naturally  from  15  to  25 
feet.    In  cultivation  it  is  kept  within  6  to  10  feet. 
(2)  Leaves  large,  thick,  tough,  leathery,  glossy,  evergreen,  placed 
opposite  to  each  other  on  the  branches. 
(3)  Flowers  small,  pure  white,  tubular,  very  fragrant.  Corolla  4 
to  5  cleft  in  C.  Arabica,  9  cleft  in  C.  Liberica.  Clustered  in  the  axils 
of  the  leaves.  Bloom  so  profusely  and  simultaneously  as  to  give 
the  trees  the  appearance  of  being  loaded  with  snow. 
(4)  Fruit,  when  ripe,  resembles  a  cherry.  Normally  it  contains  two 
seeds,  which  are  elliptic  in  outline,  rounded  above,  flat  below,  and 
placed  with  the  flat  side  of  one  against  the  flat  side  of  the  other. 
Each  seed  has  a  deep  groove  running  lengthwise  on  the  flat  face. 
(361) 
