Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

shiny-leaf wild-coffee, wild coffee

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Psychotria nervosa

Family:

Rubiaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

shrub

Size:

2.0 to 6.0 ft tall by 1.5 to 3.0 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

red,green,brown

Phenology:

Evergreen. Blooms and fruits year round except during cold or drought.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Showy Fruits, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Small specimen plant, foundation planting, general cover plant in shaded areas.

Considerations:

Wild Coffee does not like constant full sun.

Availability:

Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales, Seed

Propagation:

Readily self-seeds, seeds can be collect from fruit and should be planted after last frost in cold areas.

Light:

Part Sun, Shade

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded------------------------------------------------Extremely Dry

Coming Soon!

Usually moist, occasional inundation ---to--- Short very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam, Lime Rock

Soil pH:

6.1 to 7.5

Suitable to Grow In:

9A,9B,10A,10B,11

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Birds

Nectar plant for atala ( Eumaeus atala ), great southern white ( Ascia monuste ), julia ( Dryas iulia ), Schaus' swallowtail ( Heraclides aristodemus ), and other butterflies. 





Attracts pollinators including a variety of bees and wasps, flies, and beetles.

Birds like the fruit.

Native Habitats:

Dry mesic to xeric hammock, high areas in swamps, coastal shell mounds, pine flatwoods.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

This is not a coffee substitute (Pinkley 1969; Austin 2004). Its common name is may be a reference to some visual similarity to coffee

General Comments:

Sensitize to cold weather.