Catha is a genus of flowering plants in the family Celastraceae (order Celastrales). The genus is generally treated as monotypic, containing only the species Catha edulis, commonly known as khat (or qat, Bushman's tea). It is a slow-growing, evergreen shrub or small tree, typically reaching 1–5 metres in height but capable of growing up to 10 metres in equatorial regions. The leaves are leathery, 5–10 cm long and 1–4 cm wide. Flowers are small with five white petals, produced on short axillary cymes 4–8 cm long. The fruit is an oblong, three-valved samara capsule containing one to three seeds.The plant is best known for its leaves, which are chewed as a stimulant — they contain the alkaloid cathinone, producing mild euphoria, increased sociability, and suppressed appetite. This practice has deep cultural roots in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, where khat-chewing has been a social custom for centuries.Taxonomic treatment of the genus varies among authorities. While Wikipedia and many modern treatments consider Catha monotypic (with C. edulis as the sole species), some GBIF records accept additional names including Catha forskaolii A.Rich. and, in at least one record, Catha cymosa G.Don — though the latter is more commonly placed in synonymy under Gymnosporia heterophylla.Sources used: Wikipedia, GBIF
Etymology
The genus name Catha is the Latinised form of the Arabic word "khat" (قات, qāt), the common name for the plant in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. This derivation was noted by 19th-century writers, including Charles Dickens in 1856, who observed that botanists "taking the native name for the plant, turn it into Catha edulis." The specific epithet edulis means "edible" in Latin.
Distribution
Catha is native to eastern and southern Africa, ranging from Ethiopia and South Sudan southward through East Africa to Angola and the Cape Provinces of South Africa. It occurs naturally in montane riverine and evergreen forests at elevations of 1,100–2,400 metres, and also on rocky outcrops and woodland fringes. Through centuries of cultivation, it has been introduced to Yemen and other parts of the Arabian Peninsula, and more recently, through global trade, to countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.
Cultivation
Khat cultivation originated in the Harar region of Ethiopia and has been practised for centuries across the Horn of Africa and Yemen. The plant requires sun and water but is otherwise low-maintenance, taking seven to eight years to reach full height. In commercial production, plants are watered heavily in the month before harvest to soften the leaves and stems; a well-maintained plant can be harvested up to four times per year. Yemen's economy is particularly dependent on khat cultivation — by some estimates it once accounted for 30% of the country's economy and consumed an estimated 40% of its water supply. Cultivation remains widespread in Ethiopia, Kenya, Yemen, and Uganda.
Cultural Uses
The leaves and tender stems of Catha edulis are chewed fresh (or, less commonly, dried and consumed as tea) for their stimulant effects. Khat-chewing has been a social custom among men in the Horn of Africa and Yemen for centuries, predating coffee use in the region and often accompanied by conversation, hookah smoking, and tea drinking. The active compound cathinone produces mild euphoria, increased sociability, excitement, and mild appetite suppression. The World Health Organization has classified khat as a drug of abuse since 1980, though it does not consider addiction to be a serious global problem. Legal status varies widely: khat is fully legal in countries where its use is culturally significant (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Yemen), while strictly controlled in much of Europe, North America, and the Middle East.
History
The earliest known description of khat appears in the 11th-century pharmacological work Kitab al-Saidala fi al-Tibb by the Persian scholar al-Bīrūnī. The first recorded use as a social stimulant dates to the 14th century, documented by Arab historian Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari among the inhabitants of the Ifat Sultanate (in present-day Ethiopia/Somalia). The plant likely originated in the Ethiopia–Somalia region and spread to Kenya and the Arabian Peninsula. Muslim Sufis historically used khat to intensify mystical experiences. By the 19th century, European explorers and writers including Richard Burton and Charles Dickens had documented the custom, with Dickens likening its effects to strong green tea.
Conservation
Wikipedia notes, citing a book by Yousif Al Zarouni, that South Africa considers khat a protected species. No formal IUCN conservation assessment is cited. Given the plant's widespread cultivation and natural range across much of eastern and southern Africa, it does not appear to be of immediate conservation concern at the species level, though water-intensive cultivation in Yemen has placed strain on regional groundwater resources.
