18 



ILICINE.E. III. ILEX. 



branches, hairy ; flowers 4-5-petalled. V; . G. Native of Peru, 

 in hot places, about Contumasay. Flowers white. 

 Ettiptic-lefiied Holly. Shrub. 



19 I.SCOPULORUM (H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 7. p. 70.) 

 leaves ovate, roundish, and obovate, rounded at the apex, ob- 

 soletely-crenate, coriaceous, smooth, shining above ; peduncles 

 5-7-flowered, and are, as well as the brnnchlcts, pubescent, 

 clammy ; flowers 4-5-petalled. Tj . G. Native of Quito, at 

 Paramo de Alpachaca. Flowers white. 



Hock Holly. Tree 20 feet. 



20 I. RUPICOLA (H. B. et Kunth, 1. c.) leaves ovate-roundish, 

 elliptical, blunt, crenate-serrated, coriaceous, quite smooth, 

 shining on both surfaces ; peduncles usually 3-flowered, and are, 

 as well as the branches, smooth ; flowers 4-petalled. Tj . G. 

 Native of the province of Quito, near Loxa, in Paramo de Sara- 

 gura. Flowers white. 



Rock-hill Holly. Tree. 



21 I. SALICIFOLIA (Jacq. coll. 6. p. 36. t. 2. f. 2.) leaves long- 

 lanceolate, acuminated at both ends, coriaceous, smooth, tooth- 

 letted from the middle ; cymes axillary, longer than the petioles. 



Jj . S. Native of the Mauritius. Burglaria lucida, Wendl. ? ex 

 Steud. Flowers white. Leaves with red edges. 



milon-leai'cd Holly. Fl. June, July. Clt. 1818. Shrub 

 10 feet. 



22 I. ODORA'TA (Hamilt. in D. Don, prod. fl. nep. p. 189.) 

 leaves oval-oblong, bluntly acuminated, crenulate, stalked ; um- 

 bels sessile, glomerate, equal in length to the petioles. Tj . H. 

 Native of Nipaul, in the vicinity of Chitlong at the town of 

 Lahuri. Flowers white, sweet-scented. 



Sweet-scented Holly. Tree. 



23 I. PALTORIA (Pers. ench. 1. p. 152.) leaves oval, crenate, 

 coriaceous, smooth, crowded, hardly stalked ; brandies some- 

 what velvety ; peduncles axillary, 1 -3-flowered. (7 . G. Native 

 of Peru and New Granada, on the highest mountains. Branches 

 brownish-black. Stigma large, tetragonal. Corolla usually 4- 

 petalled, white. Paltoria ovalis, Ruiz et Pav. fl. per. 1. t. 84. 

 f. 6. Tlex Paltoria, H. B. et Kunth, nov. gen. amer. 7. p. 69. 



Pallor's Holly. Shrub 10 feet, 



24 I. PARAGUE'NSIS (Lamb, 

 pin. vol. 2. app. t. 2.) quite 

 smooth ; leaves obovate, oblong, 

 bluntish, remotely serrated; pe- 

 duncles axillary, many-parted ; 

 flowers 4-cleft, tetrandrous, rarely 

 5-cleft ; stigma 4-lobed ; drupe 

 8-furrowed, containing 4 nuts. 

 Tj . S. Native of Paraguay, and 

 in the Brazils, about Curitiba, 

 where it is called Mate, and in 

 French Hcrlc du Pnragimi, and 

 in Paraguay Yerva mate. Flowers 

 white. Berries red. This plant is 

 that which grows in Paraguay, 

 where the, Jesuits make a great re- 

 venue from the leaves. These 

 leaves are used in Paraguay, La 



Plata, Chili, Peru, and Quito at all hours of the day, by putting 

 a handful in a kind of tea-pot called mate, and from the spout 

 of this the hot liquor is imbibed. Some mix sugar with it, and 

 others add a few drops of lemon juice; and by pouring fresh 

 boiling water, the infusion may be renewed. The Creoles are 

 very fond of it, and never travel without a supply. They drink 

 the infusion at every meal, and never eat until they have taken 

 some of it. It must be drank directly, for if suffered to remain 

 long the liquor would become as black as ink. The pipe to the 

 mate, or tea-pot, called a bombilla, is perforated with holes at the 



FIG. 3. 



top, to prevent swallowing the pulverized herb, which swims on 

 the surface. The whole party is supplied by handing the mate 

 and pipe from one to another, filling up the vessel with hot water 

 as fast as it is drunk out. The repugnance of Europeans to drink 

 after all sorts of people in a country where siphilitic diseases 

 are so prevalent, has occasioned the introduction of small glass 

 pipes, with which each person is sometimes provided. About 

 200,000 arrobas of the leaves, equal to 5 millions Ibs., are annually 

 obtained from Paraguay,! 10, 000 arrobas of which go to Chili, from 

 which Lima and Quito are supplied ; the rest is expended in the 

 vice-royalty of Buenos Ayres. The leaves when green taste some- 

 thing like mallow leaves ; they are roasted and dried, and almost 

 pulverized before they are packed. There are three kinds of it 

 in its prepared state, although produced by the same plant, which 

 go under the names of Caa-cuys, Caa-mini, and Caa-guazu; 

 the first is the buds of the leaves when hardly expanded ; the 

 second is the leaves stripped oft' the ribs before roasting, and 

 the third is roasted without any preparation. The Caa-cuys 

 does not keep, and is consequently all used in Paraguay. The 

 aromatic bitterness which the herb possesses when prepared is 

 partly dissipated by carriage. The principal harvest of the herb 

 is made in the eastern part of Paraguay, and about the moun- 

 tains of Maracaya, but it is also cultivated in the marshy valleys 

 which intervene between the hills. The people boast of innu- 

 merable qualities which this herb possesses. It is certainly 

 aperient and diuretic, but the other qualities attributed to it are 

 rather doubtful. In the mine countries the use of this herb is 

 more universal, from the opinion that prevails amongst the 

 Spaniards, that the wines there are prejudicial to health. Like 

 opium, it produces some singular effects ; it gives sleep to the 

 restless, and spirit to the torpid. Those who have once con- 

 tracted the habit of taking it, do not find it an easy matter to 

 leave it off", or even to use it in moderation, though when taken 

 to excess it brings on similar disorders to those which are pro- 

 duced by the immoderate use of strong liquors. 



The practice adopted for procuring the leaves is for the mer- 

 chant to provide himself with a quantity of such goods as are best 

 suited to the natives. After having obtained permission of the 

 government, he goes to the quarter where the natives under- 

 stand the work, and there he gives public notice of his design. 

 The cutters collect, and having received advances in goods, he 

 provides them with mules, and then conducts them to whatever 

 yerval or grove promises the best harvest. Each morning the 

 cutters disperse on foot, and cut as many branches as they can 

 carry, and after scorching them over the fire, they bring them to 

 the general deposit. A hurdle of long poles is there prepared 

 in the shape of a cylindrical vault, which they call barbaqua ; on 

 this the branches are placed, and under a large fire is made, on 

 which they dry the leaves. This done, they remove the fire, 

 and on a hard and hot platform, after being swept clean, they 

 throw the leaves, which they beat and separate. The leaves 

 being separated are put into leather bags ; they are now con- 

 sidered as fit for use, but not considered as seasoned until they 

 are a few months old. 



Mate or Paraguay Tea. Clt. 1823. Tree 15 feet. 



25 I. GONOO'NHA (Mart. trav. engl. edit. 2. p. 100.) leaves 

 elliptical, pungently-mucronate, spiny-toothed, rounded at the 

 base, green and shining above ; spikes usually twin, branched, 

 densely-pubescent ; flowers pentandrous ; style distinct, entire. 

 Jj . S. Native of Brazil, in the provinces of the Mines. The 

 leaves of this plant afford a kind of tea, called in Brazil Gon- 

 gonha or Congonha, and which is considered by some as iden- 

 tical with that from Paraguay. M.M. Martius and St. Hilaire 

 appear to be of this opinion. Dr. Martins found the plant in 

 the province of Minas Geraes, but M. Auguste St. Hilaire met 

 with his plant near Curitiba, in the province of St. Paul, and it 



1 



