Kauaʻi record · kba_plant_coffea_liberica

Liberian Coffee

Coffea liberica

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About Liberian Coffee

Liberian Coffee (Coffea liberica) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Current Kew and 2025 primary research place the narrowed C. liberica concept in wet-tropical West Africa. A government forestry ledger compiled in 1980 documents a Kauaʻi planting in 1943 under the historical name Coffea liberica. This planting identification predates the modern species split and does not verify current survival, fruiting or naturalization.

Kauaʻi evidence

Taxonomic identity, tree form, diagnostic morphology and island occurrence use the linked reviewed sources. Historical planting, cultivation, naturalization and invasive status are separate. Generated imagery is not occurrence evidence. The 1918–1959 Kauaʻi reforestation working register records 3 plants under Coffea liberica across 1 entries dated 1943. These are recorded planting quantities, not counts of surviving trees, and they do not by themselves establish current persistence, naturalization, or ecological impact. Source: Kauaʻi Reforestation Plantings 1918–1959 working register (user-supplied; reconciled 6 October 2026).

Names and classification

Scientific name: Coffea liberica
Common names: Liberian Coffee · Liberica coffee
Other names: Coffea liberica · Liberian coffee · Liberica coffee
Record type: Species

Kauaʻi occurrence and status

Kauaʻi occurrence: Recorded on Kauaʻi
Origin: Introduced
Conservation status: Not yet assessed
Evidence date: 2026-10-06
Evidence limits: Current survival on Kauaʻi, number of trees, occupied habitat, flowering or fruiting, recruitment, population trend, and ecological effects are all unconfirmed; no naturalization or invasive severity is inferred from the historical planting record. The 1943 forestry ledger identification as Coffea liberica predates the 2025 separation of C. dewevrei and C. klainei from the broader Liberica concept. Without a reviewed specimen, accession or diagnostic contemporary description, that historical planting cannot be reassigned confidently to the narrowed modern taxon or either segregate. Record name and identity are retained as documented historical evidence; the plate illustrates the current accepted C. liberica concept, not a verified surviving historical specimen.

Habitat and ecology

Habitats: Not yet assessed
Food and resource needs: Not yet assessed
Reproduction: Fragrant bisexual flowers require pollination and mature into fleshy two-seeded drupes. Kauaʻi flowering, pollen compatibility, fruiting, seed movement, germination, and recruitment are unknown.
Shelter: Not yet assessed
Growth form: Evergreen tree

Threats and conservation

Monitoring: Not yet assessed
Data gaps: Current population extent and trajectory · Additional species-specific ecological and conservation sources

Process and seasonal context

Seasonal timing: Not yet assessed
Seasonal description: Liberian Coffee (Coffea liberica) is a post-contact introduced tree documented on Kauaʻi through historical forestry planting records. The reviewed records do not establish present survival. Current Kew and 2025 primary research place the narrowed C. liberica concept in wet-tropical West Africa. A government forestry ledger compiled in 1980 documents a Kauaʻi planting in 1943 under the historical name Coffea liberica. This planting identification predates the modern species split and does not verify current survival, fruiting or naturalization.

Sources and further reading

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