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Ilex paraguariensis

Yerba mate
Ilex paraguariensis - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-074.jpg
Ilex paraguariensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Aquifoliales
Family: Aquifoliaceae
Genus: Ilex
Species: I. paraguariensis
Binomial name
Ilex paraguariensis
A. St. Hil.

Yerba mate (from Spanish [ˈɟʝeɾβa ˈmate]; Portuguese: erva-mate [ˈɛɾvɐ ˈmate] or [ˈɛɾvɐ ˈmatʃɪ]; Guarani: ka'ay, IPA: [kaʔaɨ] ) is a species of the holly family (Aquifoliaceae), with the botanical name Ilex paraguariensis A. St.-Hil. named by the French botanist Auguste François César Prouvençal de Saint-Hilaire.

Yerba mate is widely known as the source of the beverage called mate (Portuguese: chimarrão, tererê/tereré and other variations). It is traditionally consumed in central and southern regions of South America, particularly Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, southern and central-western Brazil, the Chaco region of Bolivia and southern Chile. It is also very popular among the Druze community in Syria and Lebanon, where it is imported from Argentina. Yerba mate was initially utilized and cultivated by the Guaraní people and in some Tupí communities in southern Brazil, prior to European colonization. It was scientifically classified by the Swiss botanist Moisés Santiago Bertoni, who settled in Paraguay in 1895. Yerba mate can also be found in various energy drinks on the market today.


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Wikipedia

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