Coca (Erythroxylon coca) is a plant which is traditionally cultivated in the lower altitudes of the eastern slopes of the Andes.
Since time immemorial, its leaves have been used as a stimulant by the indigenous people of PeruFor other uses, see Peru (disambiguation The Republic of Per ( Spanish: Per Quechua, Aymara: Piruw is a country in western South America, bordering with Ecuador and Colombia to the north, Brazil to the east, Bolivia to the east, south-east and south, Chil, BoliviaThe Republic of Bolivia is a landlocked country in western South America. It is bordered by Brazil in the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina in the south, and Chile and Peru in the west. History Main article: History of Bolivia Bolivia has long been i, and northern ArgentinaArgentina is a Spanish-speaking country in southern South America, situated between the Andes in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east. It is bordered by Paraguay and Bolivia in the north, Brazil and Uruguay in the northeast and Chile in th; it also has religious and symbolic significance (see CocomamaIn Incan mythology, Cocomama was a goddess of health and joy. She was originally a promiscuous woman who was cut in half by her many lovers. Her body grew into the first coca plant, the leaves of which men were only allowed to chew (to bring health and ha).
Since the 1980s, the cultivation of coca has become controversial because it is used for the manufacture of the illegal drug cocaineCocaine is a crystalline alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system and an appetite suppressant, creating a euphoric sense of happiness and hyperthermia. Though most often used recreational.
1 Botanical aspects
Coca belongs to the natural family Erythroxylaceae . Under the older Cronquist systemThe Cronquist system is a scheme for the classification of flowering plants (or angiosperms). This system was developed by Arthur Cronquist in his texts An Integrated System of Classification of Flowering Plants (1981) and The Evolution and Classification of classifying flowering plants, this was placed in an order Linales ; more modern systems place it in the order Malpighiales.
The plant resembles a blackthorn bush, and grows to a height of 6 or 8 ft.
The branches are straight, and the leaves, which have a lively green tint, are thin, opaque, oval, more or less tapering at the extremities.
A marked characteristic of the leaf is an areolated portion bounded by two longitudinal curved lines once on each side of the midrib, and more conspicuous on the under face of the leaf.
The flowers are small, and disposed in little clusters on short stalks; the corolla is composed of five yellowish-white petals, the anthers are heart-shaped, and the pistil consists of three carpels united to form a three-chambered ovary.
The flowers are succeeded by red berries.
Good samples of the dried leaves are uncurled, are of a deep green on the upper, and a grey-green on the lower surface, and have a strong tea-like odor; when chewed they produce a faint numbness in the mouth, and have a pleasant, pungent taste.
Bad specimens have a camphoraceous smell and a brownish colour, and lack the pungent taste.
