Unraveling the origin of Coffea arabica ‘Bourbon pointu’ from La Réunion: a historical and scientific perspective

Abstract

CoVee is one of the main products on the international markets, in association with oil, corn, sugar, and paper pulp. The history of coVee-tree cultivation is incompletely documented, both regarding its domestication in Africa, and its assisted dispersal throughout the world. This review focuses on the coVee mutant, CoVea arabica 'Laurina' (Chevalier A in Encyclopedie Biologique. Vol 28, 1947), also named 'Bourbon pointu'. This plant is generally acknowledged to have been selected in the island of 'Bourbon' (La Réunion) from a Weld at the beginning of the 19th century. Compared with the common 'Bourbon' variety, 'Bourbon pointu' trees are dwarf, with a characteristic Christmas-tree shape and the beans have an excellent cup quality. Although cited many times in literature, the origin of this variety is ambiguous and is largely discussed even today with increasing confusion, particularly in books and local newsletters. This article provides a thorough historical and bibliographical review of coVee cultivation in La Réunion, which leads to an understanding of the bottleneck responsible for the low genetic diversity of the 'Bourbon'-type modern varieties. Complemented by a review of the scientiWc studies conducted on this subject, conWrmation of the veracity of the various historical accounts becomes possible, and appropriate conclusions on the origin of the 'Bourbon pointu' are derived. Although historical texts provide important information and represent priceless resources that give direction to scientiWc research, it is clear that this same research makes it possible, in turn, to clarify and to interpret historical texts.

Chemistry of Coffee

“…70 In contrast, the high genetic diversity found in the canephora branch of coffee encourages an earlier dating of the origins, as some 500 000 years ago. 75 The genomic era facilitates the understanding of coffee seed development. In the last glacial maximum, an arid period 18 000 years ago, the environment became hostile and few forest refugia 72 remained.…”

Genetic Diversity Among Indian Coffee Cultivars Determined via Molecular Markers

“…In the consumer market, arabica coffee is preferred for its beverage quality, aromatic characteristics, and low caffeine content compared to robusta. The contribution of arabica to global coffee production is around 65% (Lecolier et al 2009). …”

Improving Pathogen Resistance by Exploiting Plant Susceptibility Genes in Coffee (Coffea spp.)

“…Coffee (Coffea spp. ), after palm oil, is the second-largest worldwide agricultural traded commodity [1]. It is grown in more than 80 countries spanning over 10.6 million hectares in the (sub)tropical regions, especially in Latin America, Asia, and Africa [2][3][4].…”