Mr. J. Miers on the History of the 'Mate' Plant. 391 



where the Ilex gigantea of Bonpland abounds^ and where it at- 

 tains a height of 70 feet : the other four kinds, wdth smaller and 

 more lanceolate, punctate leaves, rarely here exceed the height of 

 30 or 40 feet. The latter are more irregularly branched, with a 

 more straggling growth, and they produce the sort called by the 

 Brazilians Herva hrava (wild Mate), while the larger-leaved 

 species, such as the Ilex gigantea, yield a kind of tea called 

 Herva mansa (mild Mate) ; such trees have straighter trunks, 

 with more regular and rounded heads. The former sorts have 

 a more bitter and stronger flavour, and want the peculiar and 

 more agreeable aroma of the Paraguay type. \Mien, however, 

 the Herva brava is mixed with the Herva mansa in the propor- 

 tion of 1 in 3 or 1 in 4, it produces a kind of Mate which is 

 hardly distinguishable from the genuine Paraguay Yerba ; and 

 it thus forms a considerable object of commerce. 



Still further to the southward of the Serra do Herval, in the 

 mountain districts of the Taypes or Canguassu, some species of 

 Ilex abound which are said to produce a tea as valuable as the 

 best sorts of Herva de Palmeira, or even vying with the Para- 

 guay tea, being equal to them in fragrance, flavour, and strength. 

 This fact is worthy of notice when we take into consideration 

 the great difference in the latitude of these districts. The qua- 

 lity of the tea of all these various kinds depends greatly on the 

 time of year in which the leaves are gathered, the best season 

 for the harvest being well known to the natives. 



Dr. Reisseck has lately published, in Martius^s ' Flora Brasi- 

 liensis,^ a Monograph of the Brazilian species of Ilex. He evi- 

 dently had not seen any specimen of the true Ilex Paraguayensis; 

 for his diagnosis under that name refers to some of the smaller, 

 more lanceolate, and punctate-leaved species of the genus, and 

 certainly not to the celebrated true Paraguayan plant. 



I now present the characters of the several Mate plants that 

 have been here referred to : — 



1. Il«sc Paraguayensis, St.-Hil. in Spr. Syst. iv. cur. post. p. 48; 

 Hook, (in parte) Lond. Journ. Bot. i. 35. tab. 1; — Hex Para- 

 guariensis, St.-Hil. {in parte) Mem. Mus. ix. 351 ; DC. Prodr. 

 ii. 15; — Ilex Paraguensis, D. Don in Lamb. Pin. App. p. 7. 

 tab. 4; — Ilex thesezans, Bonpl. MSS. [non Mart.) ; — ramulis 

 angulato-striatis ; foliis oblongis vel obovato-oblongis, coria- 

 ceis, glaberrimis, integris aut obsolete aut profundius grosse- 

 dentatis, margine revoluto, utrinque concoloribus, nervis su- 

 perne vix distinctis, subtus prominulis, reticulato-venosis, 

 epunctatis ; petiolo canaliculato ; inflorescentia in axillis plu- 

 riflora; pedunculis 4-6, subfasciculatis, e nodo bracteato 

 ortis, petiolo sublongioribus, interdum 1-floris, vel medium 



