Kava vs. Lava — What's the Difference?

Kava or kava kava (Piper methysticum: Latin 'pepper' and Latinized Greek 'intoxicating') is a crop of the Pacific Islands. The name kava is from Tongan and Marquesan, meaning 'bitter'; other names for kava include ʻawa (Hawaiʻi), ʻava (Samoa), yaqona or yagona (Fiji), sakau (Pohnpei), seka (Kosrae), and malok or malogu (parts of Vanuatu).

Lava is molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon. Magma is generated by the internal heat of the planet or moon and it is erupted as lava at volcanoes or through fractures in the crust, usually at temperatures from 800 to 1,200 °C (1,470 to 2,190 °F).

A narcotic sedative drink made in Polynesia from the crushed roots of a plant of the pepper family.

Molten rock that reaches the earth's surface through a volcano or fissure.

The Polynesian shrub from which kava is obtained.

The rock formed by the cooling and solidifying of molten rock.

A cultivated shrub (Piper methysticum) of the Pacific islands, having heart-shaped leaves. It is widely grown for its roots, which contain psychoactive chemicals.

The molten rock ejected by a volcano from its crater or fissured sides.

A narcotic beverage prepared from the roots of this plant, used traditionally for social and religious purposes.

Magma.

A dietary supplement derived from the roots of this plant, used as a sedative.

A shade of red, named after the volcanic lava.

A plant from the South Pacific, Piper methysticum.

The melted rock ejected by a volcano from its top or fissured sides. It flows out in streams sometimes miles in length. It also issues from fissures in the earth's surface, and forms beds covering many square miles, as in the Northwestern United States.

An intoxicating beverage made from the kava plant.

Rock that in its molten form (as magma) issues from volcanos; lava is what magma is called when it reaches the surface

A species of Macropiper (Macropiper methysticum), the long pepper, from the root of which an intoxicating beverage is made by the Polynesians, by a process of mastication; also, the beverage itself.

An alcoholic drink made from the aromatic roots of the kava shrub