Rev Posted March 3, 2005 My primary source was 2 Ethiopians i crept up on while they were raiding the tree. They werent very helpful with the info till i showed i knew a fair bit already then they opened up They used it fresh and dried. Dried as a tea and advsed to not to take it at night or i wouldnt sleep Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prophet Posted March 3, 2005 How do the effects differ between varieties? is the narrow leafed variety more potent than the others? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted March 3, 2005 no, the narrow leaf seems to have a slightly different chemical make up though, tort allways calls the action of no 4 rather inebrating than stimulating.i remeber the same, no4 gave me an allmost alcohol like intoxication! but don't get me wrong, no4 is a strong strain, chewing only 4 small tip leaves makes that you can't sleep for hours.... some traditional chewers, don't hold the no 4 in high regard, and seem to prefere the broad leaved strains. but let's not forget that no 4 is practicly unknown qat strain to the rest of the world, and some consumers might simply rather chew red broadleaved because thats what they grew up with. [ 03. March 2005, 08:25: Message edited by: planthelper ] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prophet Posted March 4, 2005 can you cross the different varieties together? would be interesting to see what some of the resulting plants look like from the seeds and the affects and potency. that might produce stronger growing plants also Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted March 4, 2005 i did a bit of x- breeding attempts with this plant. one has to avoid selfpollination... the whole process is very slow because catha is a bush that flowers first time only after years... i think to remeber that the pollen pompoms, get first sexually ready and few day's later the ovarys. so all the pollen arround the flowers has to be removed, the plant has to be moved somewher to avoid airborn?/ insect? pollination... than wait till the stigma matures, and apply foreign pollen. unfortunately this new seed might just grow, into a plant showing only one's parents characteristics. but some of the seed's produced by this plant should produce a new variety of plants, combinding the different genetic straits (of the parents) to various degree. hmm, my knowledge of mandel's law is very rusty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smogs Posted March 5, 2005 yeah and the percentage of each gene representation depends on the combination of recessive and dominant genes and all that junk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prophet Posted March 5, 2005 I just aquired the narrow leaf variety (strain 4) and i noticed something interesting. The leaves appear to be opposite rather than alternate (as in the other strains). This seems unusual if they are the same species. Maybe the narrow leaf variety is a new species rather than a variety. Just a thought Let me know what you think. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted March 5, 2005 nothing new there. :D no 4 like's simply to go in alternate leave formation earlier than the, brode leaved catha's!! in other words, yes it produces less, "staircase" meaning spiral, youth leave formation. meaning aswell it "matures" faster than other strains, and is hardier! [ 05. March 2005, 12:57: Message edited by: planthelper ] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Uncle. S Posted June 17, 2009 Early in this thread it was asked about red catha leaves drying out, even when the plant is recieving adequate water, just wondering if anyone knows why this is? It happens to some of my red plants but not others which are in pots next to it. Also i have had a small narrow leaf plant for several months now and it has been completely dormant up until a few days ago when the few leaves it has started going brown and crispy. Can anybody suggest anything to help it back to life? I think it may have been the cold and rain recently (perth), but it has very free draining soil and i am a bit hesitant to put it in my hot house for fear of rot. Maybe the hothouse is the way to go for a bit? Planthelper its interesting to see your posts about a cross being possible after i have seen the posts about your 'Planthelper strain'! Do you have plans to sell any plants in the future? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
planthelper Posted June 17, 2009 basicly all catha strains are sensitive to over and underwatering, only difference is that underwatering is far less likely to kill the plant. if your catha is growing very slowly than you probably underwater it... i guess what sometimes happens is that the roots of plants kept in pots get damaged by direct sunlight on the pots and by too dry conditions, than when some of the roots have been damaged, the carer notices the problem and continues to overwater for a while with the result of the plant dying or beeing pushed close to doing so. plants planted out are very drought hardy, once the rains arrive and the plant comes back to life, the new shoots formed will be very strong!! yep in the meantime i managed to create a hybreed, but unfortunately i moved to live in europe aswell and could not continue probagating this strain, however some people have this strain so just keep asking around... specialy i was looking forward to see what plants the seeds of this plant would produce, but i guess it's now up to other people to find out. about the reddishness described earlier in this thread: there are two different type of red leaves. glossy, shiny reddishness which is a sign of new shoots, virgor and potency, it happens if the plant is happy. and the late season red blotches on leaves which remind us a bit of autum colors (of falling leaves) and i guess they have somehow a similar cause, which basicly is stress (stress of cold, stress of toxic ammounts of fert, stress of too little nutes?). to be honest, i don't know excactly what causes the red blotches on the leaves of catha, but i know it's a sign of stress or in other words the plant is unhappy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tenacioustornado Posted June 18, 2009 how often do you water khat,or can you give me an estimate do you just wait until the soil is kind of dry,or almost completely dry? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
santiago Posted June 19, 2009 how often do you water khat,or can you give me an estimate do you just wait until the soil is kind of dry,or almost completely dry? well it seems to act like a bush, a very hardy design that actually thrives with less frequent watering Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mauve Posted July 6, 2009 i found an interesting site on Miraa (Khat/Qat) with many informations about the use, grading and trading in Kenya: http://sakijointernational.com/miraa_int.php Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
