Coca, Little Coca
Erythroxylum coca

Family: Erythroxylaceae

What it is like

Erythroxylum coca, otherwise known as Coca or Little Coca, is an evergreen small tree growing up to 3.5 m tall. It has straight branches, thin leaves that are opaque and oval, and small flowers. It is commonly found in South America particularly in northern Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru. The leaves contain cocaine and other alkaloids. Such alkaloids are extracted and used to make various pharmaceutical drugs.

Erythroxylum coca is an evergreen Shrub growing to 1.5 m (5ft) by 1.5 m (5ft) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 10. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.

Height (m): 1.5

Where it is found

Amazon rainforest.

S. America - northern Brazil, Bolivia, Peru.

Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Andes, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bolivia, Cameroon, Central Africa, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Nicaragua, Peru, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, South America, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, West Africa,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 1

Edible portion: Leaves - tea. The dried leaves yield a substance called cocaine which is a stimulant. The leaves are used to make coca "wine". The leaves are chewed as a masticatory. The extract from the nut is used to flavour drinks, candy and alcoholic drinks.

Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.

Drink: not including plant saps, tea or coffee substitutes.

Tea: the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.

Medicine

Rating: 4

The leaves contain cocaine and other alkaloids. They are narcotic, cerebral-stimulant and locally anaesthetic. The alkaloids are extracted and used to make various pharmaceutical drugs, including a local anaesthetic. Chewed with lime or plant ashes the leaves cause a feeling of easiness and increasing energy. Therefore they are used by native peoples as a stimulant to better endure hunger, thirst and physical stress. An infusion of the leaves serves also as remedy for altitude sickness, the feared 'soroche'.

Anaesthetic: Numbs the feeling in a local or general area of the body.

Narcotic: Relieves pain, induces drowsiness and gives a sense of well-being.

Stimulant: Excites or quickens activity of the physiological processes. Faster acting than a tonic but differing from a narcotic in that it does not give a false sense of well-being.

Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.

Other

Rating: 0

How it is grown

A plant of moderate to higher elevations in the tropics. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 17 - 23°c, but can tolerate 14 - 27°c. Mature plants can be killed by temperatures of -5°c or lower, but young growth will be severely damaged at -1°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,000 - 2,100mm, but tolerates 700 - 4,000mm. Widely cultivated in the Andean region of the tropics, where it locally also occurs wild, the plant is not easy to cultivate elsewhere, and it is little known in other parts of the world. In South-East Asia, it is only grown in botanical gardens, not as a crop. The form Erythroxylum coca ipadu is only found as a cultivated plant in Amazonian lowland rain forest areas. Grows best in a sunny position. Succeeds in most fertile, well-drained soils. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.3 - 8. Plants take 1 - 3 years from seed to the first harvest, and then have an economical life of around 20 years. Annual yields are up to 2 tonnes/ha of dried leaves. Flowering Time: Late Winter/Early Spring Mid Spring Late Spring/Early Summer Mid Summer. Bloom Color: White/Near White.

Propagating it: Plants are grown by cuttings. Seed.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Shrub

Hardiness: 10-12

Growth: Medium

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist

Things to keep in mind

Parts of plant are poisonous if ingested

Its other names

Local names

Coca, coca plant, cocae folium, cocal, cocalier, cocaïer, erythroxylon coca, ipadu, koka, kokabuske, kokastrauch,

Synonyms

Erythroxylum bolivianum Burck, Erythroxylum chilpei E.Machado, Erythroxylum coca var. coca