Coffea

Coffee
Coffea canephora
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Rubiaceae
Genus:	Coffea L.

Coffea (coffee) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. Out of about 120 species, we make coffee from only two, Coffea arabica and C. canephora.^[1]

Coffea are shrubs or small trees, native to subtropical Africa and southern Asia. The seeds are called "beans" in the coffee trade. Beans from the two productive species are widely cultivated in tropical countries. Coffee is one of the world's major commodity crops and is the major export product of some countries.

The caffeine in coffee "beans" protects the seeds of the plant. It is a form of natural plant defense against herbivory. The fruits and leaves also contain caffeine, and can be used to make a tea called 'Coffee cherry tea'. The fruit is also used in many types of soft drink.^[2][3][4][5]

Several insect pests attack the plants and affect coffee production. Coffee is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species.

1. ↑ Briggs, Helen 2019. World's coffee under threat, say experts. BBC News.
2. ↑ Burrell, Dori (23 April 2018). "SlimCafe Coffee Drinks". SlimFast.
3. ↑ "Coffeeberry, Coffee Fruit, Cascara, FutureCeuticals, whole - FutureCeuticals". www.futureceuticals.com.
4. ↑ "Starbucks". stories.starbucks.com.
5. ↑ "Brazilian Cascara". Dwellers Coffee. Archived from the original on 2019-04-05. Retrieved 2019-02-13.