Coffea racemosa

Last updated

Coffea racemosa
Coffea racemosa berries.jpg
Coffea racemosa berries
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
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 [2]

Coffea ramosaJ. J. Roemer & J. A. Schultes (1819)
Coffea mozambicana DC. (1830)
Coffea swynnertonii S. Moore (1911)

Contents

Coffea racemosa, also known as racemosa coffee and Inhambane coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae . [2] [3] It has naturally low levels of caffeine, less than half of that found in Coffea arabica , and a quarter of that in Robusta coffee.

Coffea racemosa is endemic to the coastal forest belt between northern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and Mozambique, found in an area less than 150 km2 (58 sq mi) in size. [4] 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. [5]

Cultivation

Coffea racemosa is an 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. [6] 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. Salt is sometimes sprinkled over them as they are roasted. [7] [8]

A visual comparison of the Racemosa Bean, Liberica Bean and Arabica Bean Size Comparison Racemosa Bean Liberica Bean Arabica Bean.jpg
A visual comparison of the Racemosa Bean, Liberica Bean and Arabica Bean

See also

References

  1. ↑ O'Sullivan, R. J.; Duarte, A.; Davis, A. P. (2017). "Coffea racemosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T18290386A18539355. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T18290386A18539355.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Coffea racemosa Lour". Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  3. ↑ "Coffea racemosa Lour". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000. n.d. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  4. ↑ Mapaura, A.; Timberlake, J., eds. (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants. Pretoria: Southern African Botanical Diversity. p. 71.
  5. ↑ Burrows, J. E.; Burrows, S. M.; Lötter, M. C.; Schmidt, E. (2018). Trees and Shrubs Mozambique. Cape Town: Publishing Print Matters (Pty). p. 973.
  6. ↑ Bridson, D. M.; Verdcourt, B. (2003). Flora Zambesiaca. pp. 460–463.
  7. ↑ "Rare coffee plant could help communities - CNN Video". 5 January 2015 – via edition.cnn.com.
  8. ↑ Volk, Gayle; Byrne, Patrick (7 February 2020). Crop Wild Relatives and their Use in Plant Breeding – via colostate.pressbooks.pub.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.