34 ON THE PARAGUAY TEA. 
tota superficie reticulatim venulosa.  Pefíiolus semiunciam 
longus, crassiusculus, supra canaliculatus, subtüs angulatus. | 
Racemi compositi, axillares, solitarii, foliis duplo triplove 
breviores : pedicelli breves, subtriflori. Flores terminales 
copiosiores, subumbellati. Bractee parva, acute, ad basin 
singuli pedicelli ; nunc etiam bini infra medium pedicellorum 
ultimorum. Calyx 4-lobus, lobis profundis, rotundatis, im- 
bricatis, extus pubescentibus. Corolla alba, rotata: tubo 
brevi, laciniis 4, rotundatis, patentibus, concavis. Stamina 
4, lobis alternantia, tubo inserta. Filamenta brevia 
Anthere ovales, flavae. Ovarium parvum, disco carnoso im- 
positum. Stigma minutum, obscurè 4-lobum.  Drupa 
globosa, magnitudine grane piperis, calyce persistente basi | 
cincta, stigmate 4-lobo terminata, siccitate 4-vel subocto-sul- 
cata, tetrapyrena: pyrenis oblongo-triquetris utrinque acu- - 
tiusculis, rugosis. 
Reference to the figures : 
E 
An. I. Mew P araguayensis, a. from Paraguay. Fig. l. 1 
Drupa, with its persistent calyx and crowned with the 4-lobed ) 
stigma ; f. 2. the same, with the fleshy substance partly re- — 
moved to show the 4 nuts; f. 3. Nut: all magnified. 
Tas. II. Represents the Maté-cup and tube (drawn from 
one in the possession of Lady Callcott). 
T's. IIL lez Paraguayensis, y. from the Botanic 
Garden of Rio. Fig. 1, Flower; € 2. ovarium; f. 3. portion 
of the underside of a leaf, to show the minute glands; 
magn. 
For nearly a century and a half, an infusion of this plant — 
has been the common and favourite beverage of the settlers at 
Paraguay, who adopted the practice from the aboriginal | 
people; and the custom soon extended itself to other parts ` 
> in proportion to the population, - 
Chinese Tea more extensively 1 
of South Ameriea ; so that 
in no part of the world is 
drunk than the Yerba, Maté, 
a grent portion of South A 
Peru and Chili, 
territories. — 
merica ; in Brazil, for example, in E 
and everywhere to the south of those vast ` 
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