Can anyone I.D this Kava?

[Lukie]

Hi all.

I obtained this kava plant from a guy in Germany of all places that keeps a couple of varieties in his greenhouse for ornamental value -although he does drink it once a year as they can't over winter- Anyway I am having trouble identifying it.

Could anyone help. His only knowledge is that a pharmaceutical company was testing it years back.

Thanks much.

 

[The Kap'n]

Hi all.

I obtained this kava plant from a guy in Germany of all places that keeps a couple of varieties in his greenhouse for ornamental value -although he does drink it once a year as they can't over winter- Anyway I am having trouble identifying it.

Could anyone help. His only knowledge is that a pharmaceutical company was testing it years back.

Thanks much.

Do you happen to know how old that plant is?

 

[Lukie]

Do you happen to know how old that plant is?

This one is around 6 months from rooting.

 

[The Kap'n]

This one is around 6 months from rooting.

ooh, 6 months and that large coupled with the pharmaceutical testing makes me wonder if this is Palisi. I'll have to wait for our Hawaiian friends to wake up and start moving to get their input on it.

@Alia @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava

 

[Alia]

ooh, 6 months and that large coupled with the pharmaceutical testing makes me wonder if this is Palisi. I'll have to wait for our Hawaiian friends to wake up and start moving to get their input on it.

@Alia @Gourmet Hawaiian Kava

It does not look like a Hawaiian cultivar to me and my knowledge of other kava's outside Hawaii is limited.

 

[Lukie]

Does it look like ISA? I know they grow on the Island.

 

[Alia]

Does it look like ISA? I know they grow on the Island.

Not Isa, that's for sure.

 

[Lukie]

Not Isa, that's for sure.

Interesting he was told it was ISA but I hear ISA is speckled without purple internodes. I keeping tell my friend it isn't so thanks for confirming.

 

[Gourmet Hawaiian Kava]

I took the picture and touched it up a bit. I can see it better, like @Alia said it is not Hawaiian. It looks like a Fiji kava, but I can not be sure. It looks like Matakaro Leka or Qila Balava. I hope this helps. Aloha.

Chris

 

[The Kap'n]

I took the picture and touched it up a bit. I can see it better, like @Alia said it is not Hawaiian. It looks like a Fiji kava, but I can not be sure. It looks like Matakaro Leka or Qila Balava. I hope this helps. Aloha.

Chris
View attachment 12171 View attachment 12172

I have to lean with you Chris.

Still wondering if that's Palisi though

 

[Lukie]

Sweet! Guess I have to wait a few years before testing though. What is the chemotype of this? I got conflicting reports one said it was heavy the other said heady. It gets really bad black fungus also a lot and spider mites all the time. Constantly spraying.... I hope it will make it!

 

[kasa_balavu]

I haven't seen enough pics of Samoan, Tongan, ni-Van, or PNG cultivars to rule them out, but if it's a Fijian cultivar, then it's Qila Balavu.
Is that photo of a plant growing in the UK, or the Philipines?

 

[Lukie]

I haven't seen enough pics of Samoan, Tongan, ni-Van, or PNG cultivars to rule them out, but if it's a Fijian cultivar, then it's Qila Balavu.
Is that photo of a plant growing in the UK, or the Philipines?

This is the only one that made it out of many. I had 5 when I arrived. 4 died in a 1 month quarantine. I am looking forward to have fresh kava in a few years for sure and I am buying a 200 gallon pot hopefully it will be big enough!

 

[kasa_balavu]

That's a bummer. Did they let you tend the plants while they were in quarantine, or did you have no access during that period?
Were they all the same cultivar? I'm curious if your German source had more than one cultivar.

 

[Lukie]

That's a bummer. Did they let you tend the plants while they were in quarantine, or did you have no access during that period?
Were they all the same cultivar? I'm curious if your German source had more than one cultivar.

They got root rot. I had access but we were in quarantine also due to COVID testing so it was really difficult. When I got home they got smashed again by the airplane and then finally died. They were all Hawaiian apart from this one. Yes he has Hawaiian strains also Moi I think. They just don't do well in Germany during winter but he keep them going year after year.

 

[Lukie]

Does anyone know what disease this is? It happens on the older bigger leaves.

 

[sɥɐʞɐs]

This is the only one that made it out of many. I had 5 when I arrived. 4 died in a 1 month quarantine. I am looking forward to have fresh kava in a few years for sure and I am buying a 200 gallon pot hopefully it will be big enough!

I’m already mourning the loss of your 5th plant.

best of luck though \000/

 

[Alia]

Does anyone know what disease this is? It happens on the older bigger leaves.

Would need to see a picture of the entire leaf, under side too.

 

[Lukie]

Would need to see a picture of the entire leaf, under side too.

If the leaves do that I take them off here is another leaf doing the same thing and a few top leaves.

 

[Alia]

Looking at the 2nd picture I think there is an area in the left side that has red spider mites or thrips.
These critters feed off leaves and cause the down-turning of a leaf because they "suck plant cells from many garden plants,"
Azatin aka Neem based insecticides and/or light sunspray oils can control.