Piper methysticum

Kava or kava kava (Piper methysticum: Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Greek 'intoxicating') is a plant in the pepper family, native to the Pacific Islands. The name kava is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'. Kava can refer to either the plant or a psychoactive beverage made from its root. The beverage is a traditional ceremonial and recreational drink from Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Nakamals and kava bars exist in many countries. Traditional kava is made by grinding fresh or dried kava root, mixing it with water or coconut milk, and straining it into a communal bowl. Outside the South Pacific, kava is typically prepared by soaking dried root powder in water and straining it. It is consumed socially for its sedative, hypnotic, muscle relaxant, anxiolytic, and euphoric effects, comparable to those produced by alcohol. Kava also produces a numbing sensation in the mouth. Kava consists of sterile cultivars clonally propagated from its wild ancestor, Piper wichmanii. It or......read more on Wikipedia.