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Kava found growing in Louisiana?

Kalm with Kava

Kava Vendor
Discovery of pepper plant Kava Kava

Area outside of Lafayette, LA where the plant kava kava has been discovered growing.

Piper Auritum News, Lafayette, Louisiana, 4.1.2017 – Two local botanists have discovered the plant Piper Methysticum, better known as kava kava growing in the Louisiana swamplands. The researchers, surprised by the discovery, have yet to fully identify the cultivars and to establish just how the plant came to be growing in this southern state, but are planning to investigate further.

One theory is that the plants may have originated in French Polynesia and have been brought to the state by French explorers via Europe. French Polynesia comprises of 118 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over an expanse of more than 1,200 miles in the South Pacific Ocean. It is divided into five island groups one of which is the Marquesas Islands. And they are home to 21 different cultivars of Kava. And Louisiana was a Kingdom of France from 1682 to 1763 – hence the speculation about a French connection.

What is certain is that the plants were transported to Louisiana from elsewhere. Kava is a non-invasive species and is not propagated by seeds, which means that whole plants must have made the journey to the state. The kava plant favors sunny, humid conditions and year round warm temperatures so it is easy to see why it might thrive in the coastal marshlands of Louisiana that support a prevalence of vegetation and, on the east side many rare and unusual species such as pitcher plants.

Neither of the botanists who made the discovery were available for comment this weekend. A close associate said that they did however partake in sampling drinks made from one of the plants and thoroughly enjoyed the effects of it. They plan to accompany the owner of the land where the kava has been discovered on a business trip to Florida where they have meetings already set at a number of kava bars to discuss potential plans for commercialization of the new found crop. Florida is home to the largest number of kava bars in the U.S.

Needless to say, we’ll be following the unfolding of this story closely in the days ahead. It opens up the possibility that kava might be discovered growing elsewhere in United States, in particular within the few non-tropical rainforest areas within the country. For example, in Pacific temperate rain forests ecoregion which occurs on west-facing coastal mountains along the Pacific coast of North America, from Kodiak Island in Alaska, through Oregon to northern California or in areas within the southern Appalachian Mountains. The highest elevations of the Great Smoky Mountains could be a candidate for the location of old growth kava.

What we know for sure is that any discovery of kava plantations within the United States would be welcomed by those who enjoy the many benefits of the drink and the sense of calm and happiness it can induce at the end of a stressful day, and by the numerous kava bar businesses and owners always looking for a new source of supply.



https://kalmwithkava.com/local-botanists-discovery-pepper-plant-kava-kava/
 
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verticity

I'm interested in things
Well normally climate involves both temperature and humidity. A climate that is humid but not warm enough won't support kava. That is the logical reaction to this news. However I have heard that there is an unusual phenomenon at play in the climate of Louisiana due to the Gulf stream dipping southward during the early part of April, so maybe this is really not so crazy as it sounds.
 

Bula Kava House

Portland, OR
Kava Vendor
Kava Bar Owner
I would like to see a picture. If there are really 300 year old kava plants in Louisiana they must be huge. I wonder why no one noticed them before.

But I look forward to when they discover kava growing in Kodiak, Alaska.
Haha. Yeah seriously. I know the Oregon coast range well, and I don't care which direction the mountain slope is facing. Kava ain't growing. From what I know, kava doesn't do so well with three months of on and off snow and freezing temperatures.
 

Kalm with Kava

Kava Vendor
I would like to see a picture. If there are really 300 year old kava plants in Louisiana they must be huge. I wonder why no one noticed them before.

But I look forward to when they discover kava growing in Kodiak, Alaska.
Apparently there was a specific breed of alligators trained to protect the plants from discovery by man, an illuminati group if you will. Sadly, the last of the species passed away earlier this year leaving the crops to be unprotected and discovered. Alligator.jpg
 

Bula Kava House

Portland, OR
Kava Vendor
Kava Bar Owner
I was totally fooled for about five minutes. You know me; I was furiously Googling the "Piper Auritum Times" and "Kava Growing In Louisiana" trying to find who I would need to contact to be the exclusive vendor of Louisiana kava. :ROFLMAO:
 

KavaCat

Meow.
Even if this is an April Fool's sham, that might not be the worst place to try to cultivate... you know, in the future. Lafayette is hot and humid all the time.
 

Kavafied

Kava Vendor
This is the best April fools article I've read all day! Very convincing....I mean I know some fellow Tongans that pick the Taro leaves randomly growing in the swamp down here in Florida to make Lu so why can't there be Kava in the swamps as well lol. They grow well next to each other in the South Pacific so why not here lmao.
 
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