Catha Edulis - Overview

Overview

The Catha edulis (khat) plant is a leafy, flowering shrub that is often planted in dense rows to act as a fence or boundary. Khat is believed to have originated in Ethiopia, a farming country in eastern Africa. The khat plant also grows wild in the surrounding countries of Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and Kenya. Just across the Red Sea from these East African nations lies the Republic of Yemen. Yemen, which is located in the southern portion of the Arabian Peninsula, reportedly has the largest population of khat chewers worldwide. Legend has it that the plant was first transported from Africa to Arabia by missionaries who had discovered its abilities to ward off sleep during long, nighttime meditations.

A Hearty Plant

The khat plant has extremely long roots and is actually rather hard to kill. It grows best at elevations of 4,500 to 6,500 feet (1,370 to 1,980 meters). In areas with frost, the shrub grows no higher than 5 feet tall (1.5 meters). However, in areas where the rainfall is heavy, such as the highlands of Ethiopia and regions near the equator, khat trees can reach 20 feet (6 meters) in height. Khat is an extremely hearty plant. It grows very well in areas of plentiful rainfall but also grows during periods of drought when other crops fail.

Official Drug Name: Catha edulis

Also Known As: Khat (KOT); qat in Yemen, tschat in Ethiopia, miraa in Kenya; also, Abyssinian tea, African salad, Bushman's tea, chat, gat, kat, oat, qaadka, quat

Drug Classifications: Schedule I, cathinone; Schedule IV, cathine; both stimulants

Khat's flowers are small and white, and its leaves are oval in shape. When they are young, the leaves are shiny and reddish-green in color. They become yellowish and leathery as they age. The most prized parts of the plants are the young shoots, buds, and leaves near the top. Older leaves near the middle and lower sections of the plant are also used, as

The khat plant grows wild in Ethiopia, the Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and Kenya. It is imported to Yemen, which reportedly has the largest population of khat chewers in the world. The Gale Group.
The khat plant grows wild in Ethiopia, the Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and Kenya. It is imported to Yemen, which reportedly has the largest population of khat chewers in the world. The Gale Group.
After a long day of work harvesting durra, a man sits and relaxes while chewing khat in Ethiopia. Georg Gerster/Photo Researchers, Inc.
After a long day of work harvesting durra, a man sits and relaxes while chewing khat in Ethiopia. Georg Gerster/Photo Researchers, Inc.

are the stems, but these portions of the plant are considered inferior because their stimulating effects are not as great. The leaves of the Catha edulis are not picked until the plant is four years old.

Harvesting occurs during the dry season. Leaves gathered from plants over six years of age are most valued, possibly due to their greater alkaloidA nitrogen-containing substance found in plants. content.

A Cultural and Traditional Influence

The ancient Egyptians considered khat to be a sacred plant—a "divine food." The Egyptians did not use khat merely for its stimulant properties but rather to unlock what they considered to be the divine aspect of their human nature.

Khat is believed to have been traded even before coffee and is used throughout Middle East countries in much the same way as coffee is used in Western culture. In addition to its use as a mild stimulant, khat use in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula is part of a daily social ritual. Its intake occurs at a certain time each day and often takes place in special rooms designed strictly for that purpose.

Since ancient times, khat has also been used in religious contexts by the peoples of eastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. For example, khat was used, in moderation, as a stimulant to alleviate feelings of tiredness and hunger. Some members of the Islamic faith use khat during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim year, which is spent fasting from sunrise to sunset.

The Economic Side

Khat growing in Ethiopia rose considerably in 2002 and 2003. The drought-ridden land and its impoverished inhabitants make far less money farming coffee than they do drugs. Sudarsan Raghavan discussed this situation in the San Jose Mercury News. "Faced once again with massive food shortages," some Ethiopian farmers "are uprooting their coffee trees and replacing them with khat."

Raghavan described khat as "a leafy cash crop that is chewed legally by millions of people in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East." Khat grows well even during droughts, and it resists pests that can devastate a coffee crop. "When chewed for a long time," added Raghavan, "khat has another powerful draw: It makes people feel less hungry." This could, in part, explain its use in a country with too little food to feed its people.

A similar situation exists in Yemen, where about 9 percent of the country's total cultivated area is devoted to the khat plant. Yemen also grows coffee, grapes, and maize. However, the amount of money the country makes on khat "is ten times more than those crops," explained a Gulf News reporter in 2002.

Chewing Khat: A Yemeni Tradition

In Yemen, khat-chewing is a way of life. Traditionally, the plant's bitter leaf was chewed primarily in social situations by older men in East Africa and Yemen.

The production and consumption of khat still play key roles in Yemeni culture. In Yemen, khat has influenced everything from poetry and music to family relations and celebrations to when restaurants open and close. Workdays typically end around 2:00 or 3:00 PM, at which time groups of ten to several dozen people convene in a home to talk and chew. (Men and women hold their khat sessions separately.)

In almost every Yemeni home there is a mafraj, the most pleasant room in the house. It is in this room that khat sessions are held. No food is served with khat. Only water is available to help wash the leaves' juices into one's system. Between 3.5 and 7 ounces (100 and 200 grams) of leaves are chewed over three or four hours. Tea with milk is often served at the end of a khat session.