YAUPON 



Ilex vomitoria Aiton 



Yaupon is a shrub or small tree, sometimes as much as twenty- 

 five feet tall. It is especially handsome in autumn when covered with 

 its beautiful red berries, which resemble those of its close relative, 

 the American holly. It is worthy of wider cultivation as an orna- 

 mental plant in the Southern States. The fruits, when ripe, often do 

 not remain long on the branches, for birds, especially mocking birds, 

 are very fond of the berries, and soon strip the trees of them. Various 

 early explorers tell us of the black drink, or cassena, used by the 

 Indians of the South Atlantic States, which was brewed from yau- 

 pon leaves. The dried leaves, which contain about one-half of one 

 per cent of caffeine, were steeped in water, which was then cooled 

 by pouring rapidly from one vessel to another, this treatment pro- 

 ducing frothiness. When very strong from long boiling, the liquid 

 is black and bitter, and acts as an emetic, a quality which the Indians 

 regarded lightly, and merely drank again. When, however, the 

 leaves are heated with water for but a short time, a delicious drink 

 is produced, and the United States Department of Agriculture is 

 endeavoring to popularize this. It closely resembles mate or Paraguay 

 tea, which is made from a related plant, and it promises to come 

 into wider use as a substitute for tea, being more suitable than the 

 latter for production under the labor conditions of this country. 



Yaupon ranges along the Coastal Plain from Texas to Arkansas 

 and Florida, and northward to Virginia. 



The specimen sketched was obtained near Beaufort, South 

 Carolina. 



PLATE 2.2.6 



