Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)

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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.


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This page was created on 28 JAN 2004 and was last updated on 13 OCT 2006.