of Ilex Guayusa ever collected by botanists: the original material 
collected by Warsczewicz 77 years earlier was sterile—as are all 
subsequent collections. 
Just one week after examining the specimen at the Univer- 
sidad Central, I was also able to locate flowering material of 
guayusa. With Mr. Fred Ness of the University of New Mexico, 
I found a small tree in the tiny village of Rid Chico, ten kilome- 
ters south of Puyo, Ecuador. Rid Chico is inhabited by people 
known variously as the Canelos Quechua, Sacha Runa or Puyo 
Runo. The village stands at an altitude of approximately 1000 
meters, similar to that of Ortega’s collection. Nevertheless, flow- 
ering was occuring two months earlier. 
The tree, growing next to the school master’s house, did not 
belong to any single local family but was used by all members of 
the immediate community. My guide and informant, Sr. Rafael 
Santi, told me that guayusa tea 1s used before and after drinking 
the hallucinogen called ayvahuasca (Banisteriopsis Caapi). 
Drinking the tea kills the bitter taste of the ayahuasca, and its 
use afterwards prevents hangovers. In addition, it gives a person 
strength to cope with the powerful hallucinogen. Guayusa is also 
used by local people as a coffee substitute and for stomach 
trouble, and it is reputedly an aphrodisiac. In Puyo, numerous 
grocery stores sell “leis” of folded and strung leaves for local 
consumption. 
The tree was 30 feet tall, with a diameter of about 10 inches at 
breast height. It had whitish bark on all stems older than three 
years. After waiting for three weeks, I was able to collect speci- 
mens with about one third of the flowers open. Sr. Santi told me 
that the tree produced seeds, but at the time I could verify only 
that abundant pollen was being released. I located two other 
guayusa trees growing several hundred meters outside of the 
same village, but they were not in flower. These trees were 
approximately 12 feet in height and had the appearance of large 
shrubs. I was told by several residents that these trees flowered 
many months later, in the early part of the year. 
I examined the flowers and found them all to be staminate. 
Numerous flowers and buds were cross-sectioned, and only two 
tiny vestigial locules could be found in the cushion-shaped 
157 
