Coffea racemosa
| Coffea racemosa | |
|---|---|
| |
| Coffea racemosa berries | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Rubiaceae |
| Genus: | Coffea |
| Species: | C. racemosa
|
| Binomial name | |
| Coffea racemosa Lour. (1790)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Cofea ramosa J. J. Roemer & J. A. Schultes (1819) | |
Coffea racemosa or Racemosa Coffee is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It has naturally low levels of caffeine, less than half of that found in Coffea arabica, and a quarter of that in Robusta coffee. It is endemic to the coastal forest belt between northern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and Zimbabwe, found in an area less than 150 km2 (58 sq mi) in size.[1] It was widely cultivated by the Portuguese during the 1960-1970s in Mozambique, currently there are only two plantations at Ibo Island and in Hluhluwe, which remain.[2]
Coffea racemosa is a open-branched shrub or small tree growing up to 3.5 m (11 ft) tall. It has white to pinkish singular flowers (2 cm (1 in) in diameter) or in few-flowered clusters along the branches, which bloom between September and February.[3] The fruit is near-spherical in shape and purple to black when ripe. The fruit is harvested from the wild for local use as a coffee. The beans are one third of the size of Arabica beans. The beans are roasted and ground to a powder then used to make coffee, sometimes salt is sprinkled over them as they are roasted.[4][5]
References[edit]
- ^ Mapaura, A.; Timberlake, J., eds. (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants. Pretoria: Southern African Botanical Diversity Network. p. 71.
- ^ Burrows, J. E.; Burrows, S. M.; Lötter, M. C.; Schmidt, E. (2018). Trees and Shrubs Mozambique. Cape Town: Publishing Print Matters (Pty). p. 973.
- ^ Bridson, D. M.; Verdcourt, B. (2003). Flora Zambesiaca. Rubiaceae, Part 3. p. 460-463.
- ^ "Rare coffee plant could help communities - CNN Video" – via edition.cnn.com.
- ^ Volk, Gayle; Byrne, Patrick (February 7, 2020). Crop Wild Relatives and their Use in Plant Breeding – via colostate.pressbooks.pub.
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