The DEA says, “There is no legitimate use for khat in the United States.”

Unless, of course, you?EUR??,,????'???re a landscape architect. In that case, khat?EUR??,,????'???s attractive leaves and slow growth make it an attractive choice in Southern California and elsewhere.

In 1992, U.S. action in Somalia prompted the L.A. Times to look at abundant khat planting in Laguna Beach, Calif. There, in the 1940s, landscape architect Fred Lang introduced the plants, where they thrived.

Lang, who has sampled the leaves himself, said khat tastes bitter and packs less punch than a cup of black coffee.

In 1992, Laguna Beach?EUR??,,????'???s (now-former) police chief Neil Purcell (who personally arrested drug guru Timothy Leary in 1968) said he hadn’t heard about khat trees.

This summer, federal agents arrested 14 members of Seattle’s Somali community, part of what the DEA hailed as a “coordinated takedown” of a 44-person trafficking ring that had smuggled more than 25 tons of khat into the country.

One wonders if the immigrants know the plant grows freely in the U.S. in warmer latitudes. (Last year, an Australian newspaper reported that a khat tree in Perth was being stripped to the bark by African immigrants.)

Khat?EUR??,,????'???s status is likely similar to opium poppies?EUR??,,????'??+tolerated in a garden by authorities but targeted if refined or packaged for sale.

A 1992 edition of Sunset magazine?EUR??,,????'???s Western Garden Book lists Catha edulis and touts its use in ?EUR??,,????'??poor soil, dry situations, or coastal winds.?EUR??,,????'??

Khat is ?EUR??,,????'??effective as an espalier,?EUR??,,????'?? the book notes. ?EUR??,,????'??Red stems and bark add interest.?EUR??,,????'??