Kahuin

WTB REAL KAVA PLANT!

Hmm, any ideas as to what it is then? I doubt it's P. auritum considering the lack of smell?

On the note of surviving the winter, I also have Caapi and HBWR growing well So maybe the cold just isnt that bad?

So far as I can see, the two plants are almost identical. There's no strong smell from my plant unless I crush the leaves, which just to be honest smells kinda planty The only other difference I've found is that auritum is usually taller. Its probably too early to tell from the size of mine, but it just seems to be growing out at the moment.

And I meant the nodes dont have multiple branches, not that they dont branch out, sorry, bad wording.

Also apparently both are "frost tender" according to SAB shop, so there's no greater chance that either of them would grow in Sydney.

From this bit:

Which piper do you mean? The smell of safrole would be definite? or the smell of kava would be definite?

http://www.comfsm.fm/~dleeling/invasive/hawaiian_sakau.html Seems to suggest that Piper Auritum grows upright with a single stem almost like bamboo where as Methysticum clumps and has multi-branched nodes like mine.

What do you think?

Okay, broke off and rubbed a bit of leaf to see what it smelt like... Sharp and kinda citrusy maybe? Its now stuck in my nose as well. Bleaurgh, not pleasant. Photos uploading now... The photo on wiki and the photos that are coming up in searches look like mine.

I doubt it's auritum, bought it from someone over on Australian Ethnobotany a while back, don't know who, but as far as I can remember they're credible. I'll go take some more pictures of my kava for inspection, and take a sniff I wouldn't know what safrole smells like, but i'll see if i can liken what it smells like to anything i know.

Google images seems to show two distinct types, my one and:

Yup, my kava is one of my largest plants, and is a very fast grower :D I've only had this one about a year so I only have a couple of offshoots, but I'll be trying to take cuttings soon as I've heard this can be successfully done.

All I can say is good luck trading that sally for some prison soap ;) ;)