Under normal environmental conditions coffee plants in the State of São Paulo flower two to four times during the period of July to November. Only rarely do they flower beyond these limits. In 1934 a few coffee plants of the species C. arabica were found which flower almost at any period of the year. This mutant was named semperflorens. The results of the gene tical analysis here presented indicate that the characteristics of this mutant are controled by one pair of recessive factors (sf sf). This pair of genes controls the growth habit of the plant and leaf characters, its almost continuous flowering habit and its marked drought resistance. The F1 plants (semperflorens x normal) are entirely normal, the F 2 segregatir g into 3 normal and 1 semperflorens. By crossing semperflorens with the testers murta and nana, it was concluded that the new variation probably originated as a mutation from the bourbon variety. The fruits of the semperflorens plants ripen almost throughout the whole year; at two periods however, yields are higher, one of them corresponding with the normal harvest period of coffee (March-April-May), the other occuring in October-November-December. Its total annual yield is of the same magnitude as that of the bourbon variety. As the semperflorens also seems to be of certain economic value for small intensive plantations, an attempt is being made to improve its yielding capacity through regional breeding work.