Morphometrics and Phylogenomics of Coca (Erythroxylum spp.) Illuminate Its Reticulate Evolution, With Implications for Taxonomy.

ABSTRACT: South American coca (Erythroxylum coca and E. novogranatense) has been a keystone crop for many Andean and Amazonian communities for at least 8,000 years. However, over the last half-century, global demand for its alkaloid cocaine has driven intensive agriculture of this plant and placed it in the center of armed conflict and deforestation. To monitor the changing landscape of coca plantations, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime collects annual data on their areas of cultivation. However, attempts to delineate areas in which different varieties are grown have failed due to limitations around identification. In the absence of flowers, identification relies on leaf morphology, yet the extent to which this is reflected in taxonomy is uncertain. Here, we analyze the consistency of th

SUBMITTER: Przelomska NAS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11233275 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature