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Coffea liberica

Authority Family Magnoliopsida:Asteridae:Rubiales:Rubiaceae Synonyms Common names coffee, kofe, Liberian coffee Editor Ecocrop code 751

Notes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION A small upright evergreen tree or shrub growing to a height of 5-17 m. Leaves are dark, glossy green, 20-30 cm long, and leathery in texture. Berries are comparatively large, turning dull red or light yellow. USES The beans have a bitter flavore and poor liquoring quality and are used as fillers in other coffee. Mentioned as a useful agroforestry species. GROWING PERIOD Perennial. Begin to bear after 4-5 years. It may tolerate 21-30 days of mild drought. COMMON NAMES Liberica coffee, Kafeng barako, Excelsa. FURTHER INF Liberica coffee is indigenous to Liberia and Zaire. It can be found in tropical lowland forests and is recommended for altitudes between 450-600 m. It is a larger and more hardy tree than the other coffea species. With to much rainfall the plant tends to develop wood at the expense of flowers and fruits. One to 2 months of less than 50 mm rain facilitates uniform flowering. Heavy rain during and after harvest is not desirable. It will only flower when days are 13 hours or shorter. Yields of 670-900 kg/ha have been reported from Malaysia.
Sources
SOURCES (C. liberica Bull ex Hiern.) Purseglove J 1974 pp 488-492 [RAIN, TEMP, LIG, TEXT, FER] Roecklein J 1987 pp 19 [USE] Duke J 1975 pp 12 [PH, RAIN, TEMP] Onwueme I 1991 pp 438 [USE] Landon J 1984 pp 297 [RAIN, TEMP, TEXT, FER] Williams C 1979a 60-68 [TEMP, RAIN, DEP, TEXT, DRA, PH, DEP] Hensleigh T 1988 pp 123-133 [LIMITS, LIG, DEP, TEXT, DRA, FER, PH, TEMP, RAIN, PHO, USE]