The Kanna Plant: A Plain Guide to Sceletium tortuosum
What the plant looks like, where it grows, why two plants can differ chemically, and what its conservation status actually is.
The kanna plant is a modest-looking succulent with an outsized reputation. Sceletium tortuosum grows low to the ground in the dry southwest of South Africa, and almost everything people say about kanna begins with this one plant. This guide covers what it looks like, where it grows, why identification is harder than it sounds, how its chemistry varies, and what is known about its conservation status. It does not cover preparing or using the plant.
The kanna plant is Sceletium tortuosum (also classified as Mesembryanthemum tortuosum), a small succulent in the Aizoaceae family native to the arid southwest of South Africa. Its leaves and stems contain mesembrine-type alkaloids. It is rated Least Concern on South Africa's Red List, although researchers warn that wild harvesting for commercial demand could threaten it.
What is the kanna plant?
It is a succulent in the genus Sceletium, called kanna, channa or kougoed. Sceletium tortuosum is one of eight recognized Sceletium species, and the best studied [2].
The naming is confusing, so briefly: in 2007 botanists proposed folding the genus into Mesembryanthemum, which is why you will see the plant called Mesembryanthemum tortuosum in newer papers. Many authors, and the supplement industry, still use Sceletium [2]. Reviews place it in the Aizoaceae family, subfamily Mesembryanthemoideae (older papers say Mesembryanthemaceae) [1][2]. "Sceletium" comes from the Latin for skeleton, because the leaf veins remain visible as the dry leaves collapse [1]. For the plant's human history, including Khoikhoi and San use and the word kougoed, read kanna history. For a general overview see what is kanna.
What does the kanna plant look like?
Low, creeping and fleshy. A review describes it as a small succulent with creeping or climbing stems that become slightly woody with age [1].
- Leaves: thick and succulent, with bladder-like cells (idioblasts) and three to five main veins [1].
- Flowers: whitish to pale yellow, sometimes with pale pink petals, with four or five sepals [1].
- Dry plant: when it dries the leaf tissue falls away to leave the vein "skeleton" that gave the genus its name [1].
We are summarizing botanical descriptions from reviews, not offering a field guide. If you need to confirm a plant, use a botanist or herbarium, not a photo comparison.
Where does kanna grow?
In arid southwestern South Africa and nearby Namibia. One review gives the range as from the Namaqualand arid region to Montagu in the Western Cape, extending near the Western Little Karoo and as far as Aberdeen in the Eastern Cape [1]. A 2024 analysis of recorded observations found most were in the Western Cape, with some in the Northern and Eastern Cape, and described a preference for arid environments [2].
It tends to grow in sandy loam under shrubs in partial shade [1]. It is a plant of dry country, and its water-storing leaves suit that habitat.
Can you identify kanna by sight?
Not reliably. Sceletium species are hard to separate by shape alone: a 2022 metabolomics study notes that S. tortuosum and its sister species "are not easy to distinguish using morphology alone" and used chemical fingerprints to tell four Sceletium species apart [3].
Two other species complexes (S. joubertii and S. namaquense) are now treated as part of the S. tortuosum complex [2]. In practice, that means a plant sold or labelled as kanna may not match what a label claims, and only testing can confirm it. This is one reason reputable products rely on lab verification rather than appearance. See how to read a kanna label.
Why do kanna plants differ chemically?
Because geography, plant part, growing conditions and processing all change the alkaloid content. This is why "50 mg of kanna" can mean very different things on different labels.
- Where it grew. A study of plants from two provinces (145 samples by NMR and 289 by UPLC-MS) found that Northern Cape plants averaged very high total alkaloids (about 4,900 to 9,400 mg/kg dry weight), while Western Cape samples were far lower on average (16 to 4,100 mg/kg) [4].
- Which part. In a hydroponic experiment, roots held more of two alkaloids (delta-7-mesembrenone and mesembrenone) and shoots held more mesembrine [5].
- Growing conditions. In tissue culture, total alkaloids rose under darkness and osmotic stress [6]. A greenhouse or field plant is not a lab culture, so this shows sensitivity to conditions, not a growing method.
- Processing. Lab fermentation shifted mesembrine to another alkaloid over ten days [7].
- Chemotypes. Wild plants from two South African sites carried distinct alkaloid profiles, and extracts from them affected brain neurotransmitter levels in mice differently from a commercial extract [8].
The takeaway: results from a trial of one standardized extract do not carry over to a different plant source. See what Zembrin is.
Is kanna endangered?
Not officially, but there is a caution. A 2024 review summarizing South Africa's national Red List says Sceletium strictum is Endangered, S. expansum and S. varians are Vulnerable, and the remaining species, which includes S. tortuosum, are Least Concern [2]. The Red List status applies to South Africa, not worldwide.
The same authors warn that numerous companies now sell Sceletium products, and that this popularity "may well pose a significant conservation threat to the species if populations are collected from the wild" [2]. An earlier review noted that wild populations had already declined from overharvesting, poor veld management and possibly disease [9]. Collection in South Africa is regulated by biodiversity law and permits [2]. Sourcing from cultivated plants, not wild-collected ones, lowers that pressure, but a label rarely tells you. Brands can be asked where their kanna comes from. For the benefit-sharing agreement with the San Council, see kanna history.
Can kanna be grown and cultivated?
Yes, it is cultivated commercially and in research. Reviews describe it propagating readily in pots and rockeries [1], and researchers have grown it in soilless hydroponic systems, starting from a mother plant supplied by an extract manufacturer [5], and in vitro [6].
This is not a growing guide. We have not tested home cultivation, and we do not cover preparing or using the plant. Rules on possessing or importing plant material vary; check is kanna legal and local regulations.
What does this mean for kanna products?
That a label reading "kanna" tells you little by itself. The plant's alkaloid content varies widely, which is why standardized extracts were developed and why we ask brands to state the extract and the dose. If you want the product side, see kanna extract explained, and our ranking of kanna drinks shows what each label does and does not state.
This page is general information, not medical advice. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Kanna products are not intended to diagnose, prevent or manage any disease or health condition. If you take serotonergic medicines or are pregnant or nursing, talk to a doctor before using kanna; see is kanna safe. kannadrinks.com is published by Psilly Goose, a kanna drink maker.
References
- Manganyi MC, et al. A chewable cure "Kanna": biological and pharmaceutical properties of Sceletium tortuosum. Molecules 2021;26(9):2557. PubMed Central
- Reddy P, Stafford GI, Makunga NP. Skeletons in the closet? Using a bibliometric lens to visualise phytochemical and pharmacological activities linked to Sceletium, a mood enhancer. Front Plant Sci 2024;15:1268101. Frontiers
- Reddy K, Stander MA, Stafford GI, Makunga NP. Mass spectrometry metabolomics and feature-based molecular networking reveals population-specific chemistry in some species of the Sceletium genus. Front Nutr 2022. PubMed
- Zhao J, Khan IA, Combrinck S, Sandasi M, Chen W, Viljoen A. 1H-NMR and UPLC-MS metabolomics: functional tools for exploring chemotypic variation in Sceletium tortuosum from two provinces in South Africa. Phytochemistry 2018. PubMed
- Faber, Laubscher, Rautenbach, Jimoh. Variabilities in alkaloid concentration of Sceletium tortuosum in response to different soilless growing media and fertigation regimes in hydroponics. Heliyon 2020. PubMed
- Sreekissoon, Chen, Viljoen, Finnie, Van Staden. The effects of light, salt, and osmotic stress on Mesembryanthemum tortuosum growth and mesembrine-type alkaloid production in vitro. Physiol Plant 2025. PubMed
- Patnala S, Kanfer I. Investigations of the phytochemical content of Sceletium tortuosum following the preparation of "kougoed" by fermentation of plant material. J Ethnopharmacol 2009. PubMed
- Kaschula CH, et al. Differential impact of extracts from distinct Sceletium tortuosum chemotypes on central neurotransmitter concentrations in C57BL/6 mice. J Ethnopharmacol 2025. PubMed
- Gericke N, Viljoen AM. Sceletium: a review update. J Ethnopharmacol 2008;119(3):653-63. PubMed
Frequently asked questions
What is the kanna plant?
Kanna is the common name for Sceletium tortuosum, also called Mesembryanthemum tortuosum, a small succulent native to the arid southwest of South Africa. It belongs to the Aizoaceae family [1][2].
Where does kanna grow?
Reviews place it in dry, sandy habitats, often under shrubs in partial shade, from Namaqualand through the Western Cape to around Aberdeen in the Eastern Cape [1][2].
Is kanna endangered?
Not officially. A 2024 review summarizing South Africa's national Red List reports Sceletium tortuosum as Least Concern, while two other Sceletium species are Vulnerable and one is Endangered. The same review warns that rising demand could become a conservation threat if plants are collected from the wild [2].
Can you tell kanna species apart by sight?
Not reliably. Researchers say Sceletium species are not easy to distinguish using morphology alone and use chemical profiling to separate them [3].
Is the kanna plant itself the same as a kanna supplement?
No. Supplements and drinks use extracts, whose alkaloid content depends on the plant source and the extract method. See kanna extract explained.