''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' is a

neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of ''

Erythroxylum ''Erythroxylum'' is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Erythroxylaceae. Many of the approximately 200 species contain the tropane alkaloid cocaine,Bieri S, Brachet A, Veuthey J, Christen P. Cocaine distribution in wild Erythroxyl ...

'' ( Erythroxylaceae).

Cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

is produced from the leaves.

Name

"Novogranatense" is derived from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''novo'' (new) and ''granatense'' (Granada). It was named by William Turner Thiselton-Dyer, the third director of

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

, because its country of origin was the Spanish colonial

Viceroyalty of New Granada The Viceroyalty of the New Kingdom of Granada ( ), also called Viceroyalty of New Granada or Viceroyalty of Santa Fe, was the name given on 27 May 1717 to the jurisdiction of the Spanish Empire in northern South America, corresponding to modern ...

—present day

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Subspecies

''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' contains 2

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

: *''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' var. ''novogranatense'' (D.Morris) Hieron *''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' var. ''truxillense'' (Rusby) Plowman These two subspecies are phenotypically similar, but morphologically distinguishable.

Taxonomy

Among the genus ''Erythroxylum'', cocaine-rich leaves are obtained from 4 taxa: *'' Erythroxylum coca'' var. ''coca'' *''Erythroxylum coca'' var. '' ipadu'' *''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' var. ''novogranatense'' *''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' var. ''truxillense'' ''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' was originally identified as ''E. coca'', subsequently described as a variety, and finally came to be recognized as its own species.Plowman T. "Botanical Perspectives on Coca." Journal of Psychedelic Drugs. 1979. 11(1-2): 103-117. ''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' var. ''novogranatense'' is native to

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. Unlike ''Erythroxylum coca'', it tolerates non-acidic soils. Its adaptability and easy propagation has led to a wide distribution over the

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

and

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

tropics. It was introduced in

Bogor Bogor City (), or Bogor (, ), is a landlocked city in the West Java, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.

(

West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

) in 1875, and by 1888 large quantities of seed were already being distributed in South-East Asia. It has been grown in Peninsular

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, western and eastern

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

(

), northern

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

(

), northern

Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...

(Indonesia) and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

(

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

Cocaine content

In an extensive study, the cocaine content in leaves of ''E. coca'' var. ''coca'' (30 samples) was found to range from 0.23-0.96%, with a

mean A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statist ...

of 0.63%, while the cocaine content in ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'' (6 samples) was lower: 0.11-0.41%, with an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

of 0.25%. ''E. novogranatense'' var. ''novogranatense'' (3 samples) contained 0.55-0.93% cocaine, with an average of 0.77% and ''E. novogranatense'' var. ''truxillense'' (14 samples) 0.42-1.02%, with a mean of 0.72%.

Ecology

''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' is a highland variety that is utilized in lowland areas. It is cultivated in drier regions in South America, where it requires irrigation. However, ''E. novogranatense'' is very adaptable to varying ecological conditions, and grows well in both humid and dry areas, and at low and higher altitudes. In Java (Indonesia), ''E. novogranatense'' has been cultivated from sea-level to altitude, with best results at . In controlled environment studies, the optimum average daily temperature for leaf growth for ''E. novogranatense'' var. ''novogranatense'' was found to be around , whereas leaf growth was generally higher at photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD) of 250 or 400 micromol per meter square per second than at 155 micromol per meter square per second. Environmental effects on the cocaine concentration in the leaves were smaller, so that total cocaine production per plant was largely a function of leaf mass, with environmental conditions that stimulated leaf growth giving higher cocaine yields. Both species grow on soils with low pH, and a greenhouse study has shown that the optimum pH for biomass accumulation of ''E. novogranatense'' is between 4.7 and 6.0.

Propagation and planting

''Erythroxylum novogranatense'' var. ''novogranatense'', ''E. novogranatense'' var. ''truxillense'' and ''E. coca'' var. ''coca'' have to be reproduced by seed, because vegetative propagation is difficult. However, ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'' does not produce seed and is produced by stem cuttings. It cannot reproduce without human interference. Cultivated ''E. novogranatense'' var. ''novogranatense'' produces abundant seed and is easy to propagate. Seed viability decreases rapidly. Germination percentages of ''E. coca'' and ''E. novogranatense'' seed were found to decrease from around 95% and 89% directly after harvesting to 29% and 0%, respectively, after 24 days of storage at . Coca seedlings are usually sown in shaded nurseries and transplanted to the field when they are about one year old and tall. In the field, they are planted at a spacing of . The actual time of transplanting and the spacing of the plants varies with climatic factors and whether coca is interplanted or cultivated as a sole crop. Coca farmers in South America, when collecting their seeds, pour them into a container of water; the seeds that float are discarded as they are non-viable.

Identification

The basic physical difference between ''E. coca'' and ''E. novogranatense'' is that the ''E. coca'' (sometimes called ''E. bolivianum'') has larger leaves that are elliptical, oval and broader near the middle (broad-elliptic) and darker green color above. The ''E. novogranatense'' has smaller, narrower leaves, broadest near the apex (oblong-obovate), and bright green color above. To identify ''E. novogranatense'' var. ''novogranatense'' from ''E. novogranatense'' var. ''truxillense'': The leaves of ''E. novogranatense'' var. ''truxillense'' does not possess parallel lines either side of the central vein like all other varieties.

Harvesting

The first harvest of coca takes place at 1–3 years after transplanting. In the Island of Java (Indonesia), a first harvest can be expected within a year after transplanting. The leaves have to be stiff and easily detachable to be harvested. Leaves can be harvested every 50–60 days in the rainy season, but when it is drier, they are usually harvested every 3–4 months. The leaves should be pinched from the plant, not ripped off.

References

* Plant Resources of South-East Asia 12(3) Medicinal and Poisonous Plants 3: R.H.M.J. Lemmens, N. Bunyapraphatsara (Eds.); Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, 2003, 664 pages,

External links

The Dutch Colonial Coca Boom, 1905-1930
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5396543 novogranatense Coca Flora of Colombia Flora of Venezuela Crops originating from South America Crops originating from indigenous Americans Viceroyalty of New Granada