Fruit of the coffea brush
A small, bean sized fruit, red when ripe, containing a large seed that is the coffee bean of commerce.
Description:
Small tree, usually reaching just 10-20ft in height.
Hardiness:
Coffee is a hardy plant, but cannot be successfully grown where temperatures dip below 32F for any length of time.
It may succeed marginally in subtropical areas. An optimum temperature range falls roughly between 65-80F.
Growing Environment:
It is an extremely easily grown house plant. Coffee prefers medium amounts of rainfall and will not stand droughts or flooding. In Hawaii, coffee plantations often occur in drier zones. Coffee is a short-day plant, blooming most profusely when sunlight lasts for 8-10 hours a day.
However, coffee may bloom year-round depending on temperature and rainfall conditions. Temperatures above 85F, and below 65F will suppress flowering. Flowers occur in large bunches on old growth wood. Flowers are generally self-fertile and will produce fruit without pollination.
Rainfall around flowering time encourages development and blooming. Coffee trees can adapt to both shaded and sunny locations. In both hot or cold climates, shading and wind breaking is necessary. In more standard tropical climates, coffee may be grown in full sun.
Propagation:
Unroasted coffee beans, Coffee beans are first of all legumes. Which makes coffee a fruit.
Superior varieties can be propagated by cuttings and grafting, but coffee varieties usually come fairly true to seed, so seed is often used for propagation as well.
Uses:
Coffee fruits contain little flesh and are usually discarded, the seed however undergoes a processing procedure that yields the coffee bean of commerce.
Over 95% of commercial coffee varieties arise from this species.
Native Range:
Understory tree native to medium elevation (4000-6000ft) tropical forests of Ethiopia.
Humans have spread coffee throughout tropical zones worldwide.
It is commonly cultivated in Hawaii, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
