The history of the plant goes back to ancient times. For centuries, the Inca leaves and their successors chewed coca leaves. In addition, the leaves were brewed as tea (mate de coca).
This article talks about the representative of the botanical world, called the cocaine bush. This is the oldest culture of the Incas, who considered it a sacred plant.
Places of growth
The birthplace of coca is the northwestern territory of South America, but today the plant is artificially cultivated in India, Africa and on about. Java.
With a rather low oxygen content typical of mountains, the use of coca leaves helps to maintain the activity of the body. This plant also has a religious and symbolic meaning.
In the United States since the 1980s, due to the massive sale of the drug in the illegal market, unlimited cultivation of coca has been prohibited.
Where does coca grow? High in the Andes mountains, in Bolivia and Peru, a low shrub called a tree or coca bush grows. The leaves of the plant are used to produce a potent stimulant - cocaine.
Since ancient times, it has been used as a stimulant for the inhabitants of Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. No wonder the cocaine bush is depicted on the arms of Bolivia and Peru. Today it is cultivated in the tropics of Asia and South America.
Description
This is a plant from the Cocaine family. Its name comes from the Greek words "erythros" and "xylon", translated respectively as "red" and "wood", and from the Peruvian name of the plant "Sosa". In the wild, it almost never occurs.
The height of this evergreen shrub reaches 1-3 (sometimes 5) meters. The cocaine bush has an oval shape and small flowers located on short stiff stems in small groups. Small inflorescences located in the axils of the leaves, yellow-white hue. And its fruits are red, oblong - in the form of drupes. Each year, one bush of the plant gives about 5 kilograms of dry leaves.
Paired leaves have a wide elliptical shape.
Coca leaves used in medicine in total contain up to 1.5% alkaloids, the main of which are cocaine groups (truxilin, cocaine, ciniamylcocaine, tropacaine, etc.), as well as couscogyrin and gigrin. The total mass of cocaine alkaloids in the plant contains approximately 80%. It should be noted that coca plantations are under the strict supervision of Interpol.
Coca leaves
After ripening, good fresh dried leaves straighten. They have a strong aroma similar to tea. They taste pleasant and spicy. When they chew, the mouth begins to gradually go numb. Older, brownish-tinged leaves acquire a specific smell and become not sharp enough to taste.
Leaves contain a lot of nutrients and alkaloids that change mood.
The properties
Coca plant has the ability to cause a state of euphoria due to the unique properties that can suppress sensitivity to any unpleasant sensations. But do not forget that with prolonged use it can become addictive, quickly developing into cocaine addiction.
There is evidence that with long chewing, a regular coca leaf can quench your thirst, suppress hunger, and even relieve fatigue. Local use of the drug based on the leaves of this shrub paralyzes the endings of the nerves, causing severe dulling of the senses of pain and touch. Also, the plant, when it enters the bloodstream, strongly excites the nervous system.
Application
The main value that a coca plant has is the effect of good local anesthesia. This is due to the fact that its molecules, easily interacting with neurons of the main nervous system, are excited, which contributes to numbness of a part of the body.
It is not for nothing that this plant is the first local anesthetic, which made it possible to do a lot in modern surgery. Today, a variety of derivative medicines based on a cocaine bush are used.
Eating just leaves helps in the fight against headaches, with fear of heights, with apathy and migraines. Coca drinks help prevent side effects even with asthma and malaria. The leaves are also useful for problems with digestion, as well as for rheumatism and arthritis.
Coca plant not only helps to improve the state of health, it also helps to prolong life if used correctly.
Cocainized leaf extract is used to make the well-known Coca-Cola drink. In this case, cocaine is used to enhance the taste and as a tonic element. In addition, shrub leaves are used in the preparation of alcohol, elixirs, soaps and creams.
Briefly about the features of growing
How is coca plant grown? Seeds for planting in the soil are used only fresh, because with prolonged storage their germination is lost. The best substrate to date is vermiculite, which is an ideal tool for fast and friendly germination of sprouts. Seeds are planted to a depth of not more than 3 centimeters. High humidity is not suitable for this plant.
After about 20 days, sprouts appear that require good lighting. Average air humidity and drainage are welcome.
Coca plant also perceives additional fertilizer with special organic mixtures. The bush is quite resistant to insects and diseases, but it is very afraid of mealy worms. Its normal growth can also be negatively affected by sudden changes in air humidity and temperature, drought and heavy watering.
It should be noted that it is not recommended to touch the young bush often, since it is very sensitive. The optimal age of the plant for seed production is 3-5 years.