Location of Kava Kava

Kava Kava is an indigenous plant to Polynesia, the Sandwich Islands, and the South Sea Islands. Current research indicates that it may have been domesticated less than three thousand years ago in Vanatu (part of Melanesia). The kava beverage is still used today by inhabitants of the island communities of the Pacific including Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. Kava Kava is a hardy perennial that grows to be around three meters or more. Kava Kava generally has 8-inch ovate to heart shaped leaves. The flower spikes are opposite the leaves. Male and female flowers occur on separate plants. The rootstock, or stump, is the part of the plant used to obtain its medicinal qualities. The rootstock is knotty and thick, and sometimes tuberous, with holes created by partial destruction of the inner tissue. Lateral roots up to three meters long extend from the main rootstock. Rootstocks reach maximum growth in six years. The plant has a pleasant, lilac odor.

Kava Kava is incapable of self-reproduction; its propagation is vegetative and entirely due to human effort. Kava Kava rarely produces seeds, and all propagation must be done from cuttings of the rootstock. In the Pacific Islands, Kava Kava grows best in the cool moist highlands, up to one-thousand feet above sea level, where the daytime temperatures are between eighty and ninety degrees Fahrenheit. It is possible to grow Kava Kava in Florida, but everywhere else would require a greenhouse. Kava Kava grows best in a loose, rich soil with good drainage and frequent watering. The best crops are grown on virgin soil; in fact, if two consecutive crops are grown in the same soil the second crop will be of poor quality.

Kava Kava is best harvested right after a rain storm, as the roots will be easy to pull up.