The Coffee-tree is said to be a native of Abyssinia. Two species, the Arabian and the Liberian, are now cultivated throughout the tropics. The use of coffee was known in Arabia long before it was introduced to Europeans in the sixteenth century. The Dutch were the first to introduce the plant to Europe. The Arabian Coffee-tree is low-growing, and bears one crop annually; its leaves are elliptico-oblong, acuminate, generally from 3 to 6 inches long, and are thin and shiny. The white flowers appear in clusters, and are very fragrant. The berries are ovoid, fleshy, and bright red. In this berry are found the two seeds, which constitute the coffee of commerce. The Coffee-tree was introduced into Hawaii about 1823, by a Frenchman, who established a small plantation in Manoa Valley, Oahu. The tree is now well naturalized in the woods of Kona, Hawaii, and elsewhere in the Islands, and flourishes up to an elevation of from 1000 to 2000 feet. Plate XXXI. |