This is a complex species that has often been treated as a number of distinct species in the past[]. Indeed, there is still debate amongst botanists as to whether it should be treated as two distinct species. From the growers point of view, however, there are clear differences between the two groups[].

Common Name: Liberian Coffee

General Information

Coffea liberica is an evergreen shrub or tree growing 5 - 20 metres tall[, ].
Long used by local people as the source of a stimulating drink, it is now cultivated in many tropical countries as a source of coffee although, because of its more bitter taste, the scale of production is far less than for Coffea arabica[]. Liberian Coffee accounts for around 1% of commercially grown coffee. The taste and appearance of the beans and berries is similar to the more common coffee, although beans are often larger but contain a tough, difficult to shell skin, hindering their commercial uses[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical west and central Africa.

Habitat

Lowland to lower montane rain forest, gallery forest, forest margins and even in open scrub vegetation, at elevations up to about 1300 metres[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Shrub
Height	20.00 m
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Liberian coffee is a plant of the humid, lowland tropics, where it performs better than arabica and robusta coffees[, ]. It is found at elevations up to 600 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 24 - 30°c, but can tolerate 18 0 36°c[]. It can be killed by temperatures of 5°c or lower[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,600 - 2,400mm, but tolerates 1,100 - 3,500mm[].
Plants grow best under light shade, on well-drained clayey to sandy soils, although it is generally grown in full sunlight in Malaysia[]. Plants are tolerant of acid and poor soils - they have been known to grow successfully on alluvial muck soils with a pH of about 4.0[]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.3 - 6.2, tolerating 4.3 - 8[]. Established plants, especially from the 'Excelsa' group of cultivars, are drought tolerant[]. Plants are intolerant of waterlogged soils[].
The first fruits are produced 2 - 3 years after planting out in the field. After 5 - 6 years the plants are in full bearing[].
The economic life span of a plant is about 25 - 30 years[].
Flowering and fruiting may take place throughout the year, but flowering is triggered by heavy showers; the flower buds grow to a certain size and then rest until stimulated by continued water stress and rapid rehydration, resulting in simultaneous blooming[].
The species is self-incompatible[]. Fruit maturation takes 10 - 12 months, depending on the locality[]
The weight of dry 'green beans' is about 10% of that of fresh fruits. Annual yields of 750 - 900, occasionally to 1,100 kg/ha of green beans can be obtained from well-maintained holdings. Improved cultivars have a potential annual yield of 1.7 t/ha and selected clones even 2.1 - 2.3 t/ha[].
This is a complex species that has often been treated as a number of distinct species in the past[]. Indeed, there is still debate amongst botanists as to whether it should be treated as two distinct species. From the growers point of view, however, there are clear differences between the two groups. The complex is here treated as one species with two main varieties:-
var dewevrei (De Wild. & T. Durand) Lebrun. Known as 'Excelsa coffee', from the growers viewpoint this differs in being more drought tolerant and having a smaller fruit up to 20mm x 16mm[].
Var liberica. Known as 'Liberian coffee'. The fruit is up to 25mm x 21mm, has a thicker, more leathery pericarp and is often more tapered towards the base[]
Although this species contributes only about 1% to total world coffee production, it is grown more extensively in southeast Asia with 80% of coffee production in Malaysia being of this species, for example, and about 25% in the Philippines[].

Edible Uses

The roasted, powdered seed is used to make the well-known drink coffee[]. That made from this species has a more bitter taste than that of the well-known arabica or robusta coffees[]. The taste of excelsa coffee, which originates from a botanical variety of this species, is less bitter than that of true Liberian coffee[].
On a dry matter basis the beans contain about 0.5 - 1.8% of caffeine[].

Medicinal

The leaves are used to treat headaches and sore eyes[].

Other Uses

Seedlings are sometimes used as rootstocks for Arabica (C. arabica) and Robusta (C. canephora) plants[].

Propagation

Propagation is usually by seed. The viability of the seeds is comparatively short, depending upon conditions, and it is advisable to plant within 2 months of harvesting. Seeds are sown in seedbeds prepared from alluvial sand, about 1.5 cm deep and 5 - 8 cm apart or in rows 30 cm apart. The seeds can be planted with the parchment attached but germination is quicker when it is removed[]. Germination can take about 50 days[], but the older the seeds, the longer they take to germinate[]. Seedlings are planted in polythene bags 8 - 12 weeks after sowing when they have 2 - 4 pairs of leaves. They are transplanted into the field when they have developed 6 - 8 pairs of leaves, which under normal circumstances will be 8 - 10 months after sowing. The time of transplanting should ideally coincide with the onset of the rainy season. Seedlings can be raised in shaded nurseries, planting them out into their permanent positions when 6 - 12 months old[].
Cuttings.
Layering
Air layering
Grafting.

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