158 FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS 
about a dozen other species of Ilex in the United States, some with 
deciduous and some with evergreen leaves, but none of them are very 
ornamental except possibly when loaded with ripe fruit. The leaves of 
the “yaupon” in the Southern States (I. Cassine) have been used for 
tea; but it is from the leaves of I. Paraguayensis, a South American 
species, that a beverage of really fine quality is obtained. It is known 
as maté or Paraguay tea, and is as important in the commerce of the 
country as ordinary tea is in China, the annual consumption reaching 
8,000,000 pounds. The beverage is very stimulating, and when taken 
in excess is almost an intoxicant. The leaves of several other South 
American species are used for the same purpose. 
Family Celastraceae. Staff-tree Family. Consists of about 40 
genera and 350 species, of wide distribution, though chiefly in warm 
regions. They are trees or shrubs, frequently climbing, with simple 
leaves and small regular perfect flowers, 
with a conspicuous disk in the center, on 
which are situated the stamens and pet- 
als, which are both 4 or 5 in number, 
alternate with each other. The ovary is 
3-5-celled, becoming in fruit either a cap- 
sule or a somewhat fleshy pod having 
much the appearance of a berry, the 
seeds with an appendage known as an 
aril. This is often brilliantly colored, 
whence the name of “burning bush,” ap- 
plied to our American species of Huony- 
_ Fig. 136. ‘The two uppermost draw mus, one of which is shown in Fig. 187. 
nae. Babs rien The climbing false bittersweet (Celastrus 
Laeanay lower right hand, flower of scandens) is a familiar object in the fall, 
siocrene. Redrawn from Engler. with its bright yellow fruits and red- 
arilled seeds. In Fig. 186 is seen a section through the fruit of Wim- 
-meria, a tropical shrub belonging to this family. 
The Celastraceae possess no very important economic feature. The 
Arabian Catha edulis furnishes from its dried leaves a beverage known 
as kat-tea or cafta, the flavor of which is pleasing. The Arabs also 
believe that a twig of the bush worn in the bosom prevents the person 
from danger of infection. The herbage of Huonymus is poisonous. 
Family Hippocrateaceae. Hippocratea Family. Contains Hippo- 
cratea, with about 60 species, and Salacia, with about 70. Both are 
tropical shrubs or trees, distinguished from the preceding family by 
having flowers with 3 monadelphous stamens and 5 petals. The fruit 
is sometimes edible. Hippocratea ovata, a climbing shrub, is the sole 
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