Catha edulis

Botanical Description

Catha edulis is an erect, evergreen, glabrous tree growing up to 25 metres tall with dimorphic branching and a small pointed crown[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. In cultivation it is a multi-stemmed shrub about 2.5 - 6 metres tall[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. Khat has long been used as a masticatory and stimulant in Africa. It is both harvested from the wild and cultivated, with a history of cultivation going back to at least the 6th century AD[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. The primary centre of origin is assumed to be in the south-western highlands of Ethiopia and its regular use as a stimulant is confined largely to Muslim communities of southern Arabia and eastern Africa. It was not known to the West until the end of the 18th century, and its use outside Africa is still largely confined to ethnic communities[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. Khat use has grown tremendously in popularity, especially since the 1970’s, and the crop has become very profitable for farmers[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ].