Kafi / Robusta Coffee
Coffea canephora
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala
How to identify Kafi
Identify Kafi by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a shrub habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Cultivated for coffee beans (Robusta coffee).
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous (smooth, hairless).
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In India, compare location records such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala.
- Confirm it sits within the Rubiaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Kafi.
Plant Details
Leaf characters
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kafi itself; the rest are typical of the Rubiaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Berry
Characters marked “recorded” are for Kafi itself; the rest are typical of the Rubiaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- काफ़ी kafi, कॉफी kophi
- Nepali
- कहुवा kahuwa, काफि kaphi
- Bengali
- কফি kaphi
- Tamil
- காபி kapi
- Telugu
- కాఫీ kaaphii
- Kannada
- ಬುಂದು, ಬೂಂದು Bundu, ಕಾಫಿ kaaphi
- Malayalam
- കാപ്പിച്ചെടി kaappicceti, റോബസ്റ്റ കാപ്പി, Coffea canephora
- Marathi
- कवा kava, कॉफि kophi
- Sinhala
- රොබස්ටා කෝපි
About Kafi
A member of the Rubiaceae family, Robusta Coffee (Coffea canephora) is a shrub. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
Rubiaceae
Coffee/Madder family
Kafi belongs to the Rubiaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Rubiaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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