巧茶属 qiao cha shu

Authors: Jin-shuang Ma & Michele Funston

Shrubs, glabrous. Leaves opposite on mature branches and alternate on juvenile branches, obtusely serrate. Inflorescences axillary, cymose. Flowers bisexual, 5-merous. Disk thin, cupuliform, weakly 5-lobed, intrastaminal; anthers longitudinally dehiscent, introrse. Ovary 3-locular; ovules erect, 2 per locule. Capsule cylindric, bony, loculicidally dehiscent. Seeds 1-3, with membranous, basal wing.

One species: E Africa, cultivated in N Africa, Arabian peninsula, and tropical Asia.

The leaves contain cathinone, a natural amphetamine, and are commonly chewed for the pharmaceutical effects.

Lower Taxon

• Catha edulis (Vahl) Endlicher