ABSTRACT
Coca plants are small evergreen shrubs with reddish brown bark. Erythroxylum coca is the major source of commercially produced coca leaves and cocaine. It is 2 to 4 m (6-13 ft.) in height but usually kept no higher than 2 m when cultivated. The leaves are 3 to 5 cm (1-2 in.) long and resemble bay and tea leaves. The foliage contains 0.1% to 1% cocaine, with higher amounts tending to occur at higher altitudes. The species is native to fertile warm valleys under 2000 m (6560 ft.) in the tropical region of the eastern Andes Mountains and is widely cultivated in South America. Erythroxylum novogranatense is closely related to E. coca but is considerably less important. This species is thought to exists only in cultivation. It is grown mostly in Colombia and Venezuela and also in northern Peru and Brazil.
