Mitragyna speciosa is a large tree in the Rubiaceae family native to Southeast Asia in the Indochina and Malesia floristic regions. The leaf of the tree has been traditionally used for its medicinal properties and is known as kratom (Thai: กระท่อม). It was first formally documented by the Dutch colonial botanist Pieter Korthals. The genus was given the name Mitragyna by Korthals because the stigmas in the first species he examined resembled the shape of a bishop's mitre. It is botanically related to the genera Corynanthe, Cinchona and Uncaria and shares some similar biochemistry.
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