The Collaborative International Dictionary
Coca \Co"ca\, n. [Sp., fr. native name.] The dried leaf of a South American shrub ( Erythroxylon Coca). In med., called Erythroxylon.
Note: Coca leaves resemble tea leaves in size, shape, and odor, and are chewed (with an alkali) by natives of Peru and Bolivia to impart vigor in prolonged exertion, or to sustain strength in absence of food.
Mexican coca, an American herb ( Richardsonia scabra), yielding a nutritious fodder. Its roots are used as a substitute for ipecacuanha.
Hygrine \Hy"grine\, n. [From Gr. ? moist.] (Chem.) An alkaloid associated with cocaine in coca leaves ( Erythroxylon coca), and extracted as a thick, yellow oil, having a pungent taste and odor.
Usage examples of "erythroxylon coca".
There are two varieties in commerce, the Huanuco Coca, or Erythroxylon Coca, which comes from Bolivia and has leaves of a brownish-green colour, oval, entire and glabrous, with a rather bitter taste, and Peruvian Coca, the leaves of which are much smaller and a pale-green colour.