|
Ilex
paraguariensis A. St. Hil.
Standardized Common
Name: Maté
Other Common Names: Paraguay Tea, Yerba
Maté
Family: Aquifoliaceae
Taxonomy: Ilex, the
genus to which holly belongs, is taxonomically messy, with estimates of species
numbers ranging from 400 to 500 or even 800. It is distributed worldwide,
especially in the Americas and in Asia. Ilex paraguariensis is native to
Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, where it is often cultivated. Only a few
related species are present in Argentina and Paraguay. Brazil has several dozen
species of Ilex, for which no recent comprehensive treatment exists.
Some of these occur in similar habitats and might be confused with I.
paraguariensis. Ilex paraguariensis is a variable species, both in
nature and in cultivation, and may be divided into three varieties, of which
var. paraguariensis, a glabrous-leaved tree, is by far the most widely
distributed and commonly utilized.
Description: Evergreen tree or
large shrub, to 16(–30) m high. Young twigs slightly angled to striated. Leaves
elliptic-obovate to obovate or rarely broadly elliptic, (3–)5–14(–25) cm long,
(0.8–)2.5–6.5(–10.0) cm broad, leathery; petiole (2–)5–12(–19) mm long; base
cuneate to oblique; apex obtuse to rounded or rarely acuminate; margin slightly
revolute, shallowly serrate to crenate or wavy except near the base; venation
pinnate. Plants dioecious; inflorescences axillary; male inflorescences few-flowered
cymes, female flowers usually solitary. Flowers small, 5–7 mm in diameter;
calyx 4- or rarely 5-lobed; petals 4(–5), greenish white, fused near the base
and spreading; anthers 4(–5), filaments fused at base to corolla; ovary
compound, 4-carpellate. Fruit a berrylike drupe, globose, red to reddish brown,
5–7(–10) mm in diameter, containing 4(–6) “seeds” (pyrenes).
Parts
in Commerce:
Leaves
Identification: Material in commerce
is usually broken into small pieces when it is dried (and sometimes roasted) in
South America, before it is shipped. This makes identification less convenient
for purchasers, as the leaf size is not observable and features of the leaf
shape and margin are not readily discerned. Depending upon the material, most
of the following features may be visible:
- Leaves
thick-textured and leathery, pale green (or brown if roasted)
- Leaf surfaces
smooth, glabrous, without dark glands
- Petiole short,
usually <1.5 cm long, hairless or slightly short-pubescent
- Base tapering,
with narrow wings of tissue extending down sides of petiole
- Apex obtuse to
rounded, normally not acuminate and never with a short sharp projection
(mucron)
- Margins usually
slightly revolute, slightly serrate to wavy in upper part of leaf
- Midrib
prominent, yellowish, conspicuously raised on basal portion of lower
surface, near apex becoming much flatter and weaker
- Both surfaces
glabrous; rarely slightly pubescent along midrib
- Secondary
venation pinnate, weak, often slightly raised beneath
- Taste astringent
Adulterants: Several other
species of Ilex have similar traditional uses and have been reported as
adulterants of I. paraguariensis. The larger leaves of I.
paraguariensis are normally >2 cm broad; a few of the known substitutes
have much smaller leaves, usually not over 1 cm broad or 2–3 cm long. It may be
possible to determine if broken material is composed primarily of such small
leaves. Other features that would demonstrate the presence of the wrong species
include:
- Margins
completely entire
- Apices acuminate
or mucronulate
- Lower surface
bearing dark glands
- Pubescence
extending beyond the petiole and midrib
- Midribs that are
prominently raised near the apex
- Petioles long
- Petioles lumpy,
leaf bases not tapering
However,
in broken material it would be essentially impossible to detect a mixture of
genuine material with certain related species by morphological examination.
Brieger (1995) discusses microanatomical and phytochemical characteristics of
several species.
References:
Bauers BM. A Guide to Identification of
Cultivated Ilex. Holly Society of America, Inc.; 1993.
Brieger D. Charaketerisierung der Blätter von Ilex
paraguariensis Saint Hilaire und möglicher Verfälschungen mit Hilfe
botanischer und phytochemischer Methoden. Berlin: J. Cramer; 1995.
Dissertationes Botanicae, No. 240.
Galle FC. Hollies. The Genus Ilex. Portland,
OR: Timber Press; 1997.
Giberti GC. Las especies argentinas del genero Ilex
L. (Aquifoliaceae). Darwiniana. 1979;22:217–240.
Giberti GC. Aquifoliaceae. Flora fanerogámica
Argentina. 1994;1:1–8.
Giberti GC. Aquifoliaceae. Spichiger, R., & L.
Ramella, eds. Flora del Paraguay, vol. 24. Geneva: Conservatoire et
Jardin botaniques and St. Louis, MO: Missouri Botanical Garden; 1994.
Macedo ICC, Corrêa Chiea S. Flora fanerogâmica da
Reserva do Parque Estadual das Fontes do Ipiranga (São Paulo, Brasil). 103 –
Aquifoliaceae. Hoehnea. 1976;13:141–143.
Wichtl M, ed. Herbal Drugs and
Phytopharmaceuticals, 3rd English
ed. Stuttgart: medpharm Scientific Publishers and Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press;
2004:366–368.
Figure 35: a–b, Ilex paraguariensis leaf and close-up.
|
