USEFUL WILD PLANTS 



mate (Ilex Paraguay en sis}. The leaves were cus- 

 tomarily toasted, thoroughly boiled in water, and 

 then cooled by pouring rapidly from one vessel to 

 another and back again, which also developed f rothi- 

 ness. The liquid is, as the name indicates, of a black 

 color, and is quite bitter. Dr. E. M. Hale, who made 

 a special study of the subject and had the results 

 published by the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture 3 a number of years ago, pronounced it a not 

 unpleasant beverage, for which a liking might read- 

 ily be acquired as for mate, tea or coffee in fact 

 somewhat suggesting in taste an inferior grade of 

 black tea. When very strong from long boiling, it 

 will act as an emetic a consummation lightly re- 

 garded by the Indians, who merely drank again. 



Two other species of Ilex growing wild throughout 

 a greater part of the length of our Atlantic seaboard 

 possess leaves that have been similarly used as sub- 

 stitutes for Chinese tea. One is 7. glabra, Gray, 

 popularly known as Inkberry, a rather low-growing 

 shrub of sandy soils near the coast, with shiny, 

 wedge-shaped, evergreen leaves, and ink-black ber- 

 ries; the other, 7. verticillata, Gray, a much taller 

 shrub, with deciduous foliage, and bright red berries 

 clustered around the stems and persisting in winter. 



a Bulletin 14, Division of Botany. 



164 



