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Psychotria tenuifolia
Also called Wild Coffee, Velvet Leafed Wild Coffee
Psychotria tenuifolia is a small evergreen shrub or tree in the coffee family, native to southern Florida, the Caribbean and tropical South America. It thrives in shade and moist, well-drained soil in warm frost-free climates.
Psychotria tenuifolia, commonly known as velvet-leaved wild coffee, is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is native to southern Florida, South America and the Caribbean. The description of velvet is based on the silky appearance that the leaves display in relation to other species of the same plant family.
Although the plant family is most commonly used for its coffee seeds, this species in particular is used for the advantages that the plant provides medically. Psychotria tenuifolia was traditionally used in the Caribbean as a home remedy to treat colds, fevers, stomach sickness, asthma, and other conditions such as swelling, sores, tumors, and skin fungus. Other sources mention that the species can be used to stop hemorrhaging
Psychotria tenuifolia grows in regions that are usually moist and can be found in locations where the other large plants provide shade for it. It is native to tropical and subtropical moist areas such as Florida, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Cuba, Brazil, as well as the Caribbean. The soil that it propagates and thrives in has to have a pH that is acidic, or preferably in alkaline. Hardiness zones in which it grows in is 10A, 10B, 11, 9A, and 9B. The type of soil they found in are usually moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils. Its seeds are dispersed by birds such as mockingbirds, and it is assumed to be pollinated by insects and hummingbirds.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Psychotria tenuifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
