There are over 6,500 species of Coffea worldwide. One lesser known species is Coffea Eugenioides. It is widespread throughout East Central Africa in several countries: Burundi, the DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda (Davis et al 2006.). It thrives in the humid understory vegetation of a variety of forests such as gallery forests, seasonally dry forests, evergreen forest, and savanna woodland and shrublands. The elevation range extends from 1,050–2,100 m above sea level and is spread over 376 km² since it can withstand a wide range of soil types (Davis et al. 2006).
C. eugenioides is classified as an evergreen shrub or small tree that usually grows to be 2-3m tall, but can grow up to 5m tall. The branches have shiny, pale brown bark, with smooth, triangular leaves. It’s root system involves vertical, tap and lateral roots extending a total of about 20km in length. The fruits are scarce and the beans are quite small, making it an undesirable plant for coffee cultivation (Specialty Coffee Assn. 2017; Charrier 2002). However, C. eugenioides along with C. canephora are the two diploid parent plants to the highly commercialized C. arabica species.
The flowers of the C. eugenioides are bisexual and the fruiting body—the coffee bean—is green and transitions to a deeper red as it matures. The seeds are yellowish green and are dispersed by wind and by animals. C. eugenioides has a low caffeine content of 0.2%, which compared with levels in C. arabica, which range from 1-2.5% (Barre et al., 1997; Charrier 2002). The lifecycle of the C. eugenioides begins with the 12 week sapling stage where the plant grows into a small tree. From there, it begins producing fruiting bodies after 3 years; however, full maturity is not reached until it is 5 years old. The tree will annually produce coffee beans for 20-25 years (Charrier 2002).
The lowland regions C. eugenioides thrives in are in the DRC and the lowland forests of the Lake Victoria belt. In Uganda, C. eugenioides and C. canephora exist in close proximity; however, their habitats differ significantly. C. eugenioides thrives on the drier hillside forests, since it is capable of withstanding temporary drought conditions and grows near forest edges, while C. canephora is found inside the forests in lowlands that are marshy (Charrier 2002).
C. eugenioides has been seen to harbor both of the major coffee diseases: coffee rust and coffee berry disease. Of the original 13 wild sites of coffee in Kenya, only 2 remain today and are protected in a national park. Further monitoring and conservation of the species, especially in terms of genetic protection, is necessary (Charrier 2002). Today, the species is not used for coffee consumption; however, the fruit is often eaten as a snack and the timber is used to make small tools (Ruffo et al. 2002). In the Amani Botani Garden in the Tanga Region, C. eugenioides seeds are collected to improve the cultivation and storage of genetic material for development of the commercialized C. arabica species (O’Sullivan et. al 2017).
