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Erythroxylum coca
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==Amazonian coca== ''Erythroxylum coca'' var. ''ipadu'', also known as Amazonian coca, is closely related to ''Erythroxylum coca'' var. ''coca'', from which it originated relatively recently.<ref name="Plowman1979">Plowman T. "Botanical Perspectives on Coca." Journal of Psychedelic Drugs. 1979. 11(1-2): 103-117.</ref> ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'' does not escape cultivation or survive as a feral or wild plant like ''E. coca'' var. ''coca'' <ref name="Plowman1984">Plowman T. "The Origin, Evolution, and Diffusion of Coca, Erythroxylum spp., in South and Central America." In: Stone D, ed. Pre-Columbian Plant Migration. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology. Harvard University. Vol 76. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press; 1984. p. 125-163.</ref> It has been suggested that due to a lack of genetic isolation to differentiate it from ''E. coca'' var. ''coca'', ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'' may be better defined as a distinct cultivar than a taxonomic variety.<ref name="Bohm1982">Bohm B, Ganders F, Plowman T. Biosystematics and Evolution of Cultivated Coca (Erythroxylaceae). Systematic Botany. 1982; 7(2): 121-133.</ref> Unlike the other species of [[coca]] which are propagated through seeds, ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'', which rarely produce seeds, is propagated through stem cuttings which remain viable for several weeks if kept moist.<ref name="Plowman1984" /> Since Amazonian coca is vegetatively propagated, entire plantations may be populated from the same clone. ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'' is specially adapted to the shifting agriculture of semi-nomadic Amazonian peoples. Since cuttings of ''E. coca'' var. ''coca'' do not easily root, it is likely that ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'' has been artificially selected for its ease of vegetative propagation.<ref name="Plowman1984" /> In contrast to the Andean ''E. coca'' var. ''coca'', Amazonian ''E. coca'' var. ''ipadu'' is typically a weaker plant evidenced by the fact that after a few years plants lose their vigor and easily fall prey to disease or insect infestation. Overharvesting can speed up this process.<ref name="Plowman1981" >Plowman T. Amazonian Coca. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 1981. 3: 195 - 225.</ref> Amazonian coca is prepared differently than the other three cultivated cocas. After fire-toasting the leaves dry, they are pulverized. Once sifted, the powder is combined with ashes from plants which serve as the necessary alkaline admixture for coca chewing.<ref name="Plowman1981" />
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