Piperaceae
Kava
Piper methysticum
- Family
- Piperaceae
- Genus
- Piper
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Common names
By language (43)
- Afrikaans
- Kawa
- Arabic
- كافا, فلفل كاوة, فلفل مسكر, فلفل مسكي, نبات الكافا
- arz
- كافا
- bi
- Kava
- Chinese
- 卡瓦胡椒, 酒胡椒
- Czech
- Pepřovník opojný, Kava, Kava kava, Pepř opojný
- Danish
- Kava
- Dutch
- Kava, Kava kava
- English
- Kava, Kava kava
- Esperanto
- Kavao
- Finnish
- Kavapippuri, Kava
- fj
- Yaqona
- French
- Kava
- Galician
- Kava
- German
- Rauschpfeffer
- Greek
- Καβά
- Hawaiian
- 'awa
- hsb
- Kawowy popjerjowc
- Hungarian
- Kava
- Indonesian
- Kava
- Italian
- Kava, Kava-kava
- Japanese
- カヴァ
- Korean
- 카바
- Latvian
- Kava, Kava kava, Kava-kava, Kavakava
- Lithuanian
- Svaigusis pipiras
- Macedonian
- Кава
- Malay
- Kava
- Malayalam
- കാവ
- Māori
- Kawa
- Norwegian Bokmål
- Kava
- Persian
- کاوا
- Polish
- Pieprz metystynowy, Kava kava
- Romanian
- Kava
- Russian
- Перец опьяняющий, Ава-перец, Кава-кава
- Slovenian
- Kava kava, Kava-kava
- Spanish
- Kava, Kava kava, Kawa kawa, Kawa-kawa
- Swedish
- Kava
- szl
- Kava kava
- Tamil
- கவா
- Thai
- คาวา
- Tongan
- Kava, Agatea violaris, Derris trifoliata, Santaloides samoense, Tephrosia purpurea
- Turkish
- Kava
- ty
- Kava, 'ava
Synonyms
- Macropiper methysticum (G.Forst.) Miq.
- Methysticum esculentum Raf.
- Methysticum methysticum (G.Forst.) A.Lyons
- Piper inebrians Bert. ex Miq.
- Piper spurium J.R.Forst. ex Miq.
Flowers
- Flower colour
- yellow (USDA PLANTS Database)
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Shrub
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Hawaii: introduced, Pacific Basin: introduced
Toxicity: Moderate, as listed by the USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29). USDA rates how toxic a plant is to people or livestock; it is not a pet-safety rating, so ask a vet or poison line if a pet or child ate it.
Photos
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Laura Fernández Winzer, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Damien Wallace, CC0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Robin White, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Russ Namitz, CC0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Dominik Maximilián Ramík, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
More in Piper
- Black pepperPiper nigrumPiperaceae
- BetelPiper betlePiperaceae
- Indian long pepperPiper longumPiperaceae
- West African pepperPiper guineensePiperaceae
- Higuillo de hoja menudaPiper aduncumPiperaceae
- Piper sarmentosumPiperaceae
- Javanese long pepperPiper retrofractumPiperaceae
- Piper umbellatumPiperaceae
- Vera cruz pepperPiper auritumPiperaceae
- Piper kadsuraPiperaceae
- Piper borbonensePiperaceae
- Piper achupallasensePiperaceae
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.