Coca Plant
One of the most misunderstood plants commercially grown and harvested is the coca plant. Most commonly known for being the plant which cocaine is created from, it has the stereotype of being a dangerous plant. However, the coca plant has many medicinal and safe uses, which have been used by herbalists since the plant’s discovery.
The coca plant grows in South America, Africa, Ceylon, Taiwan, Indonesia and Formosa. However, it is most commonly stereotyped for its existence in the Andes of South America, where the majority of cocaine is created. The first known documentation of the plant was in 1783, but it was not classified until 1786, where it was given the name Erythroxylum coca. However, it is believed that the coca plant has been tended as a domestic species for over 2,000 years. There is evidence within burial sites of coca to support this belief.
Nurturing the coca plant requires diligence and effort. The life of the coca plant begins as a fruit, which is gathered when the drupes are almost ripe. These drupes are set within a container and left to sit where the flesh of the fruit becomes squishy. Once this has occurred, the seeds are taken and the seeds are placed outdoors to dry out.
Only once this occurs, the seeds can be planted. It takes 24 days for the coca plant to germinate. Once the plant has acquired 4 leaves, they are guarded by a lattice covering for a year.
After the year has finished, the plants are transferred to preparation fields. This transportation can only occur within the rainy season. Three years after this transfer, some leaves may be harvested. Once the coca plant is able to be harvested, they are gathered three or four times a year. A fully established acre of coca plants can yield 1,500 to 2,000 pounds of product per year.
While coca plants are annual, a field will be resown once every twenty years, as the quality of the plant fades over time.
As coca plants are so valuable, there are many steps taken to protect the crops from natural predators and disease. There are many varieties of bugs that eat on the coca plants, as well as fungus that can harm or destroy the stalks, branches and leaves. Weeds can also be fatal to adolescent coca plants, as the weeds remove the soil of the nutrients that the plants need for basic survival.
Coca-Cola is the most known producer and user of the coca plant.While this soda no longer contains cocaine, it is still made directly from the coca leaf.
Modern medicinal uses of coca include use as a bactericide, as spinal anesthetics and as treatments for ailments such as eczema and shingles.
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