·其生长地年平均温度为24.9度，比罗布斯塔高1.9度，比阿拉比卡高6.8度，而品质却接近阿拉比卡
·这个物种上世纪初曾经引入欧洲，但后来被舍弃，因为罗布斯塔豆开始盛行
·如果这个物种被广泛开发，非常有利于咖啡产业应对全球变暖，以及广大热带国家的农业经济发展

In dense tropical forests in Sierra Leone, scientists have rediscovered a co
ffee species not seen in the wild in decades - a plant they say may help sec
ure the future of this valuable commodity that has been imperiled by climate
change.

The researchers said on Monday that the species, called Coffea stenophylla,
possesses greater tolerance for higher temperatures than the Arabica coffee
that makes up 56% of global production and the robusta coffee that makes up
43%. The stenophylla coffee, they added, was demonstrated to have a superior
flavor, similar to Arabica.

Botanist Aaron Davis, who led the study published in the journal Nature Plan
ts, said stenophylla was farmed in parts of West Africa and exported to Euro
pe until the early 20th century before being abandoned as a crop after robus
ta's introduction.

Many farmers throughout the world's coffee-growing belt already are experien
cing climate change's negative effects, an acute concern for the multibillio
n dollar industry.

Arabica's flavor is rated as superior and brings higher prices than robusta,
which is mainly used for instant coffee and coffee blends. But Arabica has
limited resilience to climate change and research has shown its global produ
ction could fall by at least 50% by mid-century.

Stenophylla grows at a mean annual temperature of 24.9 degrees Celsius (76.8
degrees Fahrenheit) - 1.9 degrees C (3.42 degrees F) higher than robusta co
ffee and up to 6.8°C (12.24 degrees F) higher than Arabica coffee, the rese
archers said.

The stenophylla rediscovery, Davis said, may help in the "future-proofing" o
f a coffee industry that supports the economy of several tropical countries
and provides livelihoods for more than 100 million farmers. While 124 coffee
species are known, Arabica and robusta comprise 99% of consumption.

"The idea is that stenophylla could be used, with minimum domestication, as
a high-value coffee for farmers in warmer climates," said Davis, head of cof
fee research at Britain's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

"For the longer term, stenophylla provides us with an important resource for
breeding a new generation of climate-resilient coffee crop plants, given th
at it possesses a great flavor and heat tolerance. If the historic reports o
f resistance to coffee leaf rust and drought tolerance are found to be corre
ct, this would represent further useful assets for coffee plant breeding," D
avis added.

Leaf rust is a fungal disease that has devastated coffee crops in Central an
d South America.

The study included flavor assessments involving 18 coffee-tasting experts. S
tenophylla was found to have a complex flavor profile, with natural sweetnes
s, medium-high acidity, fruitiness and good "body" - the way it feels in the
mouth.

In December 2018, Davis and study co-authors Jeremy Haggar of the University
of Greenwich and coffee development specialist Daniel Sarmu searched for st
enophylla in the wild. They initially spotted a single plant in central Sier
ra Leone. About 140 km (87 miles) away in southeastern Sierra Leone, they fo
und a healthy wild stenophylla population.

"Both locations were thick tropical forest, but stenophylla tends to occur o
n drier, more open areas: ridges, slopes and rocky areas," Davis said.

Stenophylla had not been seen in the wild in Sierra Leone since 1954 and any
where since the 1980s in Ivory Coast, Davis said. A few examples were held i
n coffee research collections.

Davis said stenophylla is threatened with extinction amid large-scale defore
station in the three countries where it has been known to grow in the wild:
Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast.

Unlike the red and occasionally yellow fruit of Arabica and robusta plants,
stenophylla's fruit are intense black. The coffee beans are inside the fruit
.

"I think we're hugely optimistic for the future that stenophylla can bring,"
said Jeremy Torz, co-founder of the specialty coffee business Union Hand-Ro
asted Coffee in East London where part of the taste-testing was held.
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