Yerba maté
| Yerba mate | |
|---|---|
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| Ilex paraguariensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Aquifoliales |
| Family: | Aquifoliaceae |
| Genus: | Ilex |
| Species: | I. paraguariensis |
| Binomial name | |
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Ilex paraguariensis A.St.-Hil. |
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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. Yerba mate can also be found in various energy drinks on the market today.
Yerba mate, Ilex paraguariensis, begins as a shrub and then matures to a tree and can grow up to 15 metres (49 ft) tall. The leaves are evergreen, 7–110 millimetres (0.3–4.3 in) long and 30–55 millimetres (1.2–2.2 in) wide, with a serrated margin. The leaves are often called yerba (Spanish) or erva (Portuguese), both of which mean "herb". They contain caffeine (known in some parts of the world as mateine) and also contains related xanthine alkaloids and are harvested commercially.
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Wikipedia