Botany

Scientific name:

Erythroxylum coca var. ipadu

Other names:

Coca amazónica, ypadu, ‘patu

Botanical description:

This plant can reach up to 2 meters in height, with rough bark and sparse cataphylls. The stipules persist over time and have a fringed keel. The branches are rigid, and those bearing flowers may or may not have leaves. The broadly elliptical leaves are dark green with an obtuse apex and faint or absent venation lines. Their texture is firmly membranous, with a sharply raised midrib on the upper surface.

Habitat and distribution:

This variety, native to the tropical rainforest, thrives in more humid and warmer environments than its relative, the Huánuco coca. It is cultivated in small plots (“chagras”) by indigenous peoples of the Amazon along the Amazon River and its major tributaries, all the way to its mouth. It can be found in the jungle regions of Colombia, Brazil, and Peru. In Peru, it is believed to still be cultivated by groups inhabiting the lowlands of the Andean-Amazon frontier.

Botanical history:

Of all the cultivated coca varieties, this was the last to be formally recognized by Western science. Although Amazonian explorer and botanist Richard Spruce collected a coca sample in 1851 from a tributary of the Rio Negro in Brazil, recording its vernacular name “ipadú,” it was initially believed that this variant was identical to that cultivated on the island of Java (E. novogranatense). Botanist Burck mistakenly assigned the name E. coca var. spruceanum to Spruce’s sample, along with material from Java that actually belonged to E. novogranatense. This identification error, combined with the fact that the reference material was grown in Asia, delayed the formal description of Amazonian coca. It was Timothy Plowman who, in 1980, formally described this variety, recognizing its distinctive morphological characteristics, habitat, cultivation method, and use.

Forms of use:

The preparation method for this variety differs slightly due to the specific conditions of the region. The leaves, larger and softer than those of other varieties, are dried in the open air or under shelters that protect them from direct sunlight, preventing fermentation and preserving their integrity. Unlike other regions, in the Amazon, coca leaves are not chewed in their dry form. Instead, they are ground or pounded into a fine powder known as mambe, which is placed directly into the mouth. This powder is mixed with alkaline ashes, mainly obtained from species like the yarumo (Cecropia sp.), which facilitate the release of the alkaloids in the leaves. These mixtures provide a distinctive taste that, besides softening the alkalinity, gives a unique character to the traditional consumption of coca in the Amazon region.

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