Coffea liberica W. Bull ex Hiern, Rubiaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 1 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Liberian coffee

Maori (Cook Islands): kaope papa‘ā

Habit:  tree

Description:  "A robust small to medium tree (when not pruned); leaves oblong-obovate, very coriaceous, acuminate, base acute, 15-35 cm long, 6-15 cm wide, on petiole of 1-2 cm; lateral nerves 6-12 pairs; cymes few together; flowers solitary on peduncle; pedicels 2-5 mm; calyx-tube 4 mm; corolla 2.5-3 cm long, 6-11-lobed; ripe fruit large, 1.8-3 cm long, red, with thick mesocarp" (Stone, 1970; p. 542).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "infrequently cultivated...at elevations from near sea level to about 200 m, and also sparingly naturalized in light forest and along trails (Smith, 1988; pp. 224-225).

Propagation:  Seeds, often dispersed by birds, fruit bats and rats (Csurhes & Edwards, 1998; p. 102).

Native range:  West Africa and eastward to Sudan and Uganda (Smith, 1988; pp. 224-225).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1988) (pp. 224-225) Voucher cited: DA 15767 Sparingly naturalized.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1988) (pp. 224-225) Vouchers cited: DA 11638, DA 1550, DA 5515, DA 13223 Sparingly naturalized.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 232) Voucher cited: Florence 9298
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 232) Voucher cited: Birnbaum 103
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 542) Present status unknown.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 264)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. (2002) (pp. 14-15) Voucher cited: C. Imada & G. Staples 2000-11 (BISH) Widespread
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 123) Voucher cited: MacKee 38080
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (pp. 175-176) Voucher cited: CHR 170412
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 264)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive cultivated	Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. (1998) (p. 102)

Comments:  In Guam, "sparingly cultivated..., perhaps no longer persisting" (Stone, 1970; p. 542).  Introduced experimentally to Niue (Sykes, 1970; pp. 175-176) but not noted on more recent surveys.  See also C. arabica.

Additional information:  Additional online information about Coffea liberica is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Coffea liberica may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Csurhes, S./Edwards, R. 1998. Potential environmental weeds in Australia: Candidate species for preventative control. Canberra, Australia. Biodiversity Group, Environment Australia. 208 pp.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Smith, Albert C. 1988. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 4. 377 pp.

Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. 2002. New Hawaiian plant records for 2000. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2000. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 68:3-18.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.

Whistler, W. A. 1990. Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands: The plants, their Maori names, and their uses. Allertonia 5(4):347-424.