What Exactly Are Kratom Strains?

The Controversy Explained

Why don’t some kratom vendors sell their kratom under a strain name?
Are kratom strains even real?

Mitragyna speciosa leaves showing red veins (Credit: Wikimedia Commons, User: Thehealingeast)

One of the first things you learn as a kratom beginner is that red veins are relaxing, white veins are energizing, greens are in-between, and yellow kratom is more subdued. Many different sites offer an ultimate guide to kratom strains that describe the characteristics of each kratom strain.

But if you’ve researched kratom long enough, you’ll run into some kratom vendors, as well as some consumers, who don’t believe in kratom strains — they think that all kratom strains are the same type of kratom, and the names are just clever marketing.

Let’s shed some light on this controversy and separate myth from fact.

Are kratom strains real?

Yes — there are general, distinctive similarities amongst red strains, green strains, whites, and yellows. It is totally valid if a user swears by only one strain. It’s not in their head. We’ll get to the explanation (and scientific evidence) in a moment.

The problem is that there are a lot of mistruths surrounding strain names. Yes, it’s partially due to marketing, but not entirely.

Common misconceptions about kratom strains:

• Different names mean different origins. The location in a strain name (i.e. “Vietnam”, “Malay”, “Thai”, etc.) does not mean that the kratom was sourced there. It may be true that some of the names may have originally derived from characteristics of plants that grew in these locations, but most of the kratom in the U.S. was harvested in Indonesia (more specifically, Borneo and Sumatra). Some location strain names were invented by vendors to differentiate products.
• Different kratom varieties have different colored leaf veins. Despite the misleading terms “Red Vein” “Green Vein” and “White Vein,” there is no correlation between kratom vein color and product. Most Mitragyna speciosa plants have leaves with red veins. The color of the strain variety comes from the oxidation process, not the vein pigments.
• The age of the plants/leaves affects the strain. While…