PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

Coffea liberica has encountered challenges related to infraspecific taxa, leading to confusion and difficulty in taxonomic identification. This study aims to determine the Liberica coffee variant in the Kalipuro Sub-district based on morphological traits, to clarify whether it is more closely related to Coffea liberica var. liberica or Coffea liberica var. dewevrei. A field study was conducted to identify reference morphological traits used as the basis for grouping Liberica coffee variants. Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the vegetative and reproductive phases were assessed and recorded. Coffea liberica exhibits four representative branch types: drooping with upward-curving tips, horizontal, declinate (drooping branch), and leaning upward. The study discovered that Liberica coffee in Kalipuro varies in leaf shape, colour, margins, apex, fruit colour, bean colour, and shape. However, some traits showed relatively low variability among accessions, and inconsistencies remained. Therefore, key characters i.e., leaf surface and shape index, number of flowers/inflorescences, fruit volume, bean shape, were used to determine the taxonomic position of Liberica coffee. The variety found in the Kalipuro more closely resembled C. liberica var. dewevrei than C. liberica var. liberica, based on a Jaccard similarity index of 0.6. Nevertheless, additional genetic research is required to clarify the taxonomic status of Liberica coffee in Kalipuro, as numerous shared characteristics lead to ambiguity among these varieties.