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Tuesday, November 29, 2005 -----

Coffee Trees

There are 25 different species of Coffee trees in the genus coffea. Coffea Arabica and coffea Robusta are the species most commonly cultivated. Many of the species are not cultivated commercially and some are grown as indoor plants purely for esthetic reasons. Some varieties of the coffee plant grow up to thirty feet tall. But in cultivation the trees are seldom allowed to grow over fifteen feet for ease of picking the coffee berry. Coffea Robusta is a shrub type plant. It grows similar to a bush with many trunks. Where as the Arabica is a tree type plant with a single trunk and paired branches growing outward with the lower branches tending to droop towards the ground.

Typically coffee trees have a bipolar leaf structure where two leaves grow opposite each other from the stem. Younger plant leaves tend to have an even edge look to them where the older plant leaves have a rippled look. The shapes of the leaves are usually oblong or oval. The typical lengths of the leaves are four to six inches with a width of one to three inches. The color tends to be a deep green with a waxy feeling surface.

The coffee plants flower is white and is formed in dense clusters where the leaves meet the trunk. The flower blooms shortly after a rain and is accompanied by a strong pleasing smell. Unfortunately the flowers only last a few days. After a coffee plant is pollinated a small green berry appears called a drupe. This coffee berry grows to about a half an inch to and inch and a quarter. These berries, like the flowers grow in clusters. When ripe, the coffee berry turns red and at full maturity it becomes bright red. Afterward the berry turns reddish-brown to brown and falls off the tree. Most pick the berry when it is red but some coffee growers allow the berry to fall off the tree before gathering.

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::  Posted by: JetBean  at 3:40 PM
  

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