All About Kratom Leaf

The leaf of the Kratom plant is a special herb that comes from Mitragyna Speciosa, a high tropical tree native to Southeast Asia. Since Kratom gained popularity, more and more people want to learn about this unique herb and why it is popular.

As Kratom is relatively new to the Western world, many people are still learning about it. The controversy about its legality has only drawn more eyes to it.

If Kratom has sparked your curiosity, you have landed on the right page. We will explore by understanding the basic part of the plant, and the leaf. This is where Kratom as a herb is sourced.

The Discovery of Kratom Leaf

Although Kratom has evolved over millions of years to survive in the hot climate of Southeast Asia, it became popular only recently in the West. The chances are that the generation before you had no clue about the herb and if it existed.

The main reason behind its late popularity is its specific origin in the Southeast part of Asia. The herb could not thrive at any other location, so it was unknown to the world for hundreds of years.

The Dutch botanists discovered the leaf of the Kratom tree at the end of the 18th century when the Dutch colonized Indonesia,. Nonetheless, they could not identify its chemical composition of Kratom until around the mid-20^th century.

All About Kratom Leaf

The leaf of a Kratom is a herb extracted from the tropical tree named Mitragyna Speciosa, a part of the coffee family. It is native to  Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam, where it grows in farms and jungles.

The Kratom tree is tall, and towers above some smaller trees with deep roots and a strong trunk that supports the massive leaf clusters. Its leaves are oval and dark green while the veins are divided into three colors, red, white, and green.

The variation in leaves’ color is due to the diverse composition of the alkaloids, which makes each plant distinct. The total alkaloid content in the leaf of a Kratom plant consists of 66% Mitragynine, a significant component of each leaf.

The diversity in strains also leads to major genetic differences in each Kratom plant. They spring from the differences in geographical locations, growing conditions, nutrition in the soil, and the weather around.

One of the most popular Kratom strains is the Maeng Da strain, which comes from a specially grafted Kratom tree.

Variations in the Kratom Leaf

If you are wondering how one plant can come in so many different varieties, the secret is behind the leaf variations. The difference in Kratom trees lies in its growing and processing conditions and not so much in the actual Kratom plant.

After people harvest Kratom, the leaves go through drying, blending, and packing before it is ready to be sold. The drying method changes the final composition of the leaves. All the different variations owe their existence to the growing as well as the drying process.

Drying the Kratom Leaf

Every leaf of the plant is green in color, but the vein color and the final product has much to do with the drying process. You can understand the variations in vein colors as red being more mature while the green being younger.

Red leaves have received the most light and sun exposure through outdoor drying or UV lighting while the green leaves are often dried indoors in the dark.

The farmers harvest white leaves after they have matured and dry them indoors for more than half of their drying time. You can think of them as the middle option in the Kratom family.

What is Yellow Kratom?

If you are wondering why we haven’t included Yellow or Gold Kratom yet, it’s because they don’t grow naturally. In simpler words, yellow and gold varieties are manufactured using a special drying process.

Then, what is the yellow variety you see in the markets? It is a result of different production methods that give a yellowish color to the final Kratom powder. The properties of Yellow Kratom are somewhat similar to the red vein Kratom, while gold is closer to the white vein.

As yellow Kratom is a relatively new and unique type, it is only available in a few varieties. However, it is expected to be available more readily in different variations with the increasing demand of Kratom in the world today.

However, make sure to buy Kratom only from authentic sources, especially when buying unique vein colors like yellow or gold.

Wrap-Up

By now, we are sure you know enough about the leaf of a Kratom plant to identify one and know something about its production. Although there is so much more to Kratom, we’ve given you the basis to do further research on this extraordinary herb.

You can also jump to our kratom blog to learn more about this interesting herb.