Coca

:For the American comedian, see Imogene Coca.

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Coca (Erythroxylum coca), often spelled koka in Quechua and Aymara, is a plant in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to northwestern South America. Under the older Cronquist system of classifying flowering plants, this was placed in an order Linales; more modern systems place it in the order Malpighiales.

Related Topics:
Quechua - Aymara - Plant - Family - Erythroxylaceae - South America - Cronquist system - Flowering plant - Order - Linales - Malpighiales

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The plant resembles a blackthorn bush, and grows to a height of 2-3 m. The branches are straight, and the leaves, which have a green tint, are thin, opaque, oval, more or less tapering at the extremities. A marked characteristic of the leaf is an areolated portion bounded by two longitudinal curved lines once on each side of the midrib, and more conspicuous on the under face of the leaf.

Related Topics:
Blackthorn - Bush - Leaves

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The flowers are small, and disposed in little clusters on short stalks; the corolla is composed of five yellowish-white petals, the anthers are heart-shaped, and the pistil consists of three carpels united to form a three-chambered ovary. The flowers are mature into red berries.

Related Topics:
Flower - Petal - Anther - Pistil - Berries

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The leaves are sometimes eaten by the moth Eloria noyesi.

Related Topics:
Moth - Eloria noyesi

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