The leaves of Erythroxylon coca
Aronson, S.M.
Rhode Island Medical Journal 73(6): 229-230
1990
ISSN/ISBN: 0363-7913 PMID: 2359916 Document Number: 4734
E. coca var. Huanuco (Bolivian coca) is a perennial shrub, both cultivated and feral, some 2 meters in height, which grows at elevations between 500 and 1,500 meters along the moist eastern slopes of the Andes in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. It is this variety which provides the bulk of the world's supply of cocaine. E. coca var. Ipadu (Amazonian coca) is locally harvested in the western reaches of the Amazon basin, has less commercial value and contains a lower leaf-concentration of psycho-active alkaloids. E. novogranatense var. Truxillense (Trujillo coca) is cultivated in the high, isolated valleys of northern Peru and can survive drought or low rainfall more readily than E. coca. Finally, E. novogranatense (Colombian coca) grows in the Andean valleys of Colombia and along the Caribbean coastal plain; it is better adapted to arid conditions, but has minor value as a commercial crop.
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