Thupa Coca

Botany

Scientific name:

Erythroxylum novogranatense var. truxillense

Other names:

Coca de Trujillo, Coca Real, Coca dulce, Coca peruana

Botanical description:

This plant can reach up to 2.5 meters in height, with smooth bark and sparse cataphylls. The stipules may disintegrate or persist over time and have an entire keel. Its branches are flexible, and those bearing flowers have leaves. The elliptical to oblanceolate leaves are pale green with an obtuse or acute apex, and they may or may not have venation lines. Their texture is thinly membranous, and the midrib on the upper surface is flat.

Habitat and distribution:

It is believed that this variety of coca was domesticated in the chaupiyunga zone of northwestern Peru, in the seasonally dry forests of the western slopes of the Andes. Adapted to drought, its cultivation has relied since ancient times on artificial irrigation, a technology that spread across the Peruvian coast. In pre-Columbian times, it was cultivated from Ecuador to northern Chile. Today, it is still grown near the city of Trujillo and in the arid Marañón River valley, with some isolated populations in northern Ecuador near the border with Colombia.

Botanical history:

This variety was first described in 1900 by botanist and pharmacist Henry H. Rusby, based on leaves freely traded in the United States and sourced from the Trujillo region of Peru. In 1980, Timothy Plowman granted it the status of a variety of the species E. novogranatense (E. novogranatense var. truxillense), including in the synonymy of this variety a species described by Peruvian botanist Eduardo Machado as Erythroxylum hardinii Machado.

Forms of use:

In northern Peru, Trujillo coca leaves have traditionally been consumed along with lime made from seashells, reflecting the ancient connections between coastal populations and the chaupiyunga. Although European colonization affected many of the traditional practices related to coca, its use has persisted, especially in the coastal valleys that rise toward the Andes, in highland settlements such as Huamachuco, and among communities in the arid Marañón valley. In some of these areas, coca leaves are even mixed with those of Abrus precatorius L., known in the region as “máquina” or “miski miski”.

Since pre-Hispanic times, coastal coca from Trujillo has been valued for its sweet taste, making it a favorite of the Inca rulers of Tahuantinsuyo, who named it Thupa Coca or Royal Coca. In the 19th century, chemical, botanical, and pharmacological investigations revealed that this variety contains a higher proportion of non-crystallizable alkaloids, which complicates cocaine extraction but is offset by a higher content of oils and aromatic compounds. This uniqueness has made it prominent in the production of stimulating tonics and beverages such as Coca-Cola, which uses these leaves to make its “Fluid Extract Coca,” known as ingredient “7X” in Merchandise 5, the secret formula. During this process, the leaves undergo “decocainization,” extracting the cocaine, which is then sold to American pharmaceutical companies, particularly Mallinckrodt.

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Thupa Coca