Will Boettcher Biology 355 Erythroxylum coca The Coca Plant The coca plant belongs to the family of Erythroxylacae. This family is comprised of about 200 species, while only four species produce the alkaloid cocaine in its leaves, the most important of which is Erythroxylum coca. Erythroxylum coca is a four to six foot high shrub which is cultivated extensively in South American, especially in Bolivia, Peru, and Columbia. It flourishes best in the warm valleys on the eastern slopes of the Andes
more plants were used for medicines, shelter, and tools than dyes. Various green dyes came from pond scum probably Protococcus, Ulothrix, Chaetophora, and Spirogyra. Another green dye that was used for bows and arrows came from lamb's quarter, Chenopodium album. Yellow dyes came from a variety of places including smooth sumac, Rhus glabra, roots, the lichens Parmelia borreri and Usnea barbata, and young cottonwood (Populus sargentii) leaf buds collected in early spring; this particular yellow dye