Farmers and traders have developed a system of names to refer to different qat (Catha edulis) cultivars, using stem color as the primary trait to differentiate them. In this study, we tested if the named cultivars from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Yemen represent genetic clusters. We also quantified clonal reproduction and tracked the geographic dispersal of cultivated–qat genotypes using microsatellite genotypes of specimens collected from across the major qat growing regions (Ethiopia, Kenya, and Yemen). Specimens were mapped to determine whether names, morphology, genetic clusters, or genotypes (in particular clones) were geographically restricted. Stem color was found to be a plastic trait because specimens of the same genotype have different colored stems. A single cultivar name was often applied to numerous clonal groups and genetic clusters, creating widespread homonymy in the ethnotaxonomy of qat cultivars. The East African Rift (EAR) in central Ethiopia was found to be a barrier to the exchange of both clonal groups and certain cultivar names. In Kenya, both cultivar names and clonal groups were broadly dispersed geographically. Nearly all of these clonal groups originated from the Mt. Kenya/Meru area in central Kenya.

农民和商人已经开发出一种名称系统来指代不同的qat（Catha edulis）品种，以茎的颜色为主要特征来区分它们。在这项研究中，我们测试了来自埃塞俄比亚，肯尼亚和也门的命名品种是否代表基因簇。我们还量化了克隆繁殖并使用从主要qat生长地区（埃塞俄比亚，肯尼亚和也门）收集的标本的微卫星基因型追踪了栽培qat基因型的地理分布。对标本进行映射以确定名称，形态，遗传簇或基因型（特别是克隆）是否在地理上受到限制。发现茎色是可塑性，因为相同基因型的标本具有不同的茎色。通常将单个品种名称应用于多个克隆组和遗传簇，从而在qat品种的民族分类学中产生广泛的同名异名。埃塞俄比亚中部的东非大裂谷（EAR）被发现是无性系和某些品种名称交流的障碍。在肯尼亚，品种名称和克隆群体在地理上分布广泛。几乎所有这些克隆群都起源于山。肯尼亚中部的肯亚/梅鲁地区。