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Coca family
Erythroxylaceae
コカノキ科
A family of about 4 genera and 250 species including the coca plant (Erythroxylum coca). Mainly distributed in tropical South America. Globally known because coca leaves contain coca alkaloids, precursors to cocaine. Mostly woody plants with small white five-petaled flowers.
Key Characteristics
- ●Mostly woody plants (shrubs to medium-tall trees)
- ●Leaves are alternate with well-developed stipules
- ●Flowers are small, pentamerous, with appendages on petals
- ●Fruit is a drupe
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Stipules
Present
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Petal count
Many
Petal fusion
Free
Ovary position
Superior
Stamen count
5
Plant sex
Dioecious / Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Malpighiales > Erythroxylaceae
Divergence Era
Paleogene (about 60–50 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Evolution of coca alkaloid biosynthetic pathways (chemical defense against herbivores)
Plants in Coca family on this site
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