Yaupon: North America's Only Native Caffeinated Plant

Ilex vomitoria

If your given name is “Pat Murderer,” you are probably accustomed to being passed over on dating websites. Similarly, if your given binomial is Ilex vomitoria, you are probably used to being passed over as a beverage. A reasonable person may expect to spew like a sprinkler head over friends and family like so many blades of Bermuda grass if they drank a “tea” with that binomial. I get it.

Yet, despite producing zero nausea— and despite the historical link between Yaupon and ceremonial emesis being weaker than spaghetti shoelaces—the Scotch Botanist, William Aiton, settled on the species name, vomitoria, to describe Yaupon.

We will explore that later.

The fact is, Yaupon makes for a delicious, stimulating, and fragrant beverage that could rival its cousin, Ilex paraguariensis (Yerba Mate), in flavor any day.

Like Yerba Mate, Yaupon is a caffeine-producing Holly. Unlike Yerba Mate, Yaupon is native to North America; in fact, it is North America’s ONLY native caffeine-producing plant [5].

Today, with the help of an emerging company from South Carolina, Yahola Tea, we can sample Yaupon together for the first time.

So, whether you want to learn how to find and identify Yaupon in your own backyard, or if you want to purchase it from a company that was kind enough to send me a free bag, this is the article for you.

Welcome to the delicious and rising fame of Ilex vomitoria:

Yaupon!

Family — Aquifoliaceae

Family Characteristics — Aquifoliaceae family members tend to be dioecious (having separate male and female plants) evergreen trees and shrubs that have inconspicuous green-to-white flowers, glossy leaves, and bright red berries typical of a holly [1].

Aliases —  Asi, Cassena, Cassina, Cassine, Cassio-berry bush, Christmas berry, Cusseena, Evergreen-Cassine, Indian black drink, South-Sea-tea, Yaupon, Yopon

Binomial Etymology — Ilex is a Latin term referring to “the Holm oak [2].” Holm was a Middle English term referencing holly [3]. Vomi was a Latin term for vomit [2]. Vomitoria was a plural form of the Latin term, vomitorium, which was a passage where Roman stadium-goers would go when they needed to exit en masse.

Binomial Pronunciation: — EE-leks vom-ih-TOR-ee-ah

Binomial Synonyms — Ilex ligustrina, Ilex cassine

Description

The alternate/ovate evergreen leaves are between 2.5 cm long (1 inch) and 1.3 cm wide (0.5 inches) with young stems and all petioles appearing to have a purple hue. Older stems grey with age. The plant produces glossy red drupes that are characteristic of a holly, but Yaupon drupes are somewhat translucent.

Habitat

Image retrieved from USDA website: https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ILVO

Why Is Yaupon’s Species Name “vomitoria?”

There have been compelling suggestions that—when the renowned Scottish botanist, William Aiton, overrode Carolus Linnaeus and slapped the name “vomitoria” on to the Yaupon binomial in the 1700s— it may have been the result of fraternal, nationalistic, or financial biases bent toward the interests of the East India Trading Company [8]. Yah see, it is said that Aiton had financial ties to the East India Trading Company, and the East India Trading Company was in no rush to promote a caffeinated beverage to disrupt its very lucrative traditional tea trade… especially not a beverage found in territories belonging to France and Spain. Even still, lacking a glue strong enough to cement the words plausible and truth together, we can only acknowledge the assertion has an undeniable ring of truthiness to it.

What we will be exploring is this: how did the act of vomiting become associated with a plant that does not cause vomiting?

What I have found is that most accounts of Yaupon being used ritualistically as an emetic seem to stem from a single source… the echoing remnants of a 455 year-old narrative; this is a story that does not mention Yaupon at all.

The Account of Jacques le Moyne de Morgues (1564)

Image retrieved under Creative Commons licensure from the Narrative of Le Moyne, an artist who accompanied the French expedition to Florida under Laudonnière, 1564.

The French artist, Jacques le Moyne de Morgues, was the first to visually represent the ritual consumption of a drink he called “Casina” (See Image Above) while accompanying René Goulaine de Laudonnière on an expedition to Florida in 1564. The society represented in the artwork were the Saturiwa: an early American tribe located near the mouth of the Saint Charles river in present-day Florida. Tragically, this tribe did not survive the European invasion, and can no longer speak for themselves.

In his narrative accompanying the illustration above, de Morgues described a public discourse with the Saturiwa Chief (seated top and middle). As deliberations were being made, the chief ordered the women to prepare the Casina drink.

Only men whom had shown bravery in the face of active combat were allowed to consume Casina. According to De Morgues, the hot beverage immediately turned the recipient flush with sweat and induced fits of nausea and vomiting [4].

Observe the unfortunate individuals seated above at 2 and 11 o’clock in the De Morgues’ illustration for example. These guys will never live this moment down.

Moving forward, they cannot be trusted with decision making of any kind [4]. Such was the challenge that the emetic Casina drink posed: the ritual participant needed near perfect control over his mind and body in the face of discomfort and hardship in order to pass. It’s brilliant. These are exactly the attributes you would hope a leader in charge of wartime decisions would have.

De Morgues described the ritual in rich detail, however, when it came time to describe the herbal constituents of the Casina drink itself, De Morgues only stated that it was “a drink prepared from the leaves of a certain root [4]” As far as recipes or botanical descriptions go, the words of that sentence stand like fenceposts between the kingdoms of Confusing and Gibberish. You’d need actual talent to make a statement more vague or unclear.

Nevertheless, many more primary references—that explicitly mention Yaupon—do not mention sweating, flushing, or nausea.

An Account of Yaupon Use by John Lawson (1709)

The following relation by the 18th century explorer, John Lawson, in his “History of the Carolinas” makes reference to the extensive use of Yaupon among Native Americans in the Carolinas without reference to vomiting at all.

This Plant is the Indian Tea, us'd and approv'd by all the [Native People] on the Coast of Carolina, and from them sent to the Westward Indians, and sold at a considerable Price. All which they cure after the same way, as they do for themselves; which is thus: They take this Plant (not only the Leaves, but the smaller Twigs along with them) and bruise it in a Mortar, till it becomes blackish, the Leaf being wholly defaced: Then they take it out, put it into one of their earthen Pots which is over the Fire, till it smoaks; stirring it all the time, till it is cur'd. Others take it, after it is bruis'd, and put it into a Bowl, to which they put live Coals, and cover them with the Yaupon, till they have done smoaking, often turning them over. After all, they spread it upon their Mats, and dry it in the Sun. to keep for Use. The Spaniards in New-Spain have this Plant very plentifully on the Coast of Florida, and hold it in great Esteem. Sometimes they cure it as the Indians do; or else beat it to a Powder, so mix it, as Coffee; yet before they drink it, they filter the same. They prefer it above all Liquids, to drink with Physick, to carry the same safely and speedily thro' the Passages, for which it is admirable, as I myself have experimented [9].

What makes this exhaustive account of Yaupon use so interesting is that it never mentions experiencing, wrestling with, or actualizing fits of nausea in any way.

Account of Yaupon in Creek Ritual by J. N. B. Hewitt (1939)

Tuscarora tribe member, linguist and ethnographer, John Napoleon Brinton Hewitt, compiled information from first-hand accounts provided by L. C. Ferryman (Governor of the Creek Nation) and General Pleasant Porter (Principal Chief of the Creek Indians) mentioning the ceremonial use of Yaupon among the Creek. This brief mention of Yaupon, by Creek tribal members in their own words, is conspicuously lacking vomit.

On the sixth day the men drank a decoction made from the leaves of the asi (Ilex vomitoria). This was taken at intervals until mid- forenoon, perhaps 9 o'clock, and they danced the Feather Dance [6].

Pull Up Your Plants reached out to the Poarch Creek Indians to see if they would prefer to share their opinions and insights on these matters, and the invitation will remain open. In the meantime, if you are interested in Creek tribal history, their own website is a great resource.

The bottom line is, when Yaupon leaves are consumed as a tea, you will not becoming flush with sweat and begin puking all over your family. I am convinced that the Casina drink either contained other emetic ingredients, or did not contain Yaupon at all.

Yaupon Taste Test

Yaupon in Literature

" Ah, good indeed to get away from city folks, with their stuck-up manners and queer ways, a-fauIt-finding when you stick your knife in your mouth in place of your fork, and a-feeding you on China tea in place of dear old yaupon. Charles, you can't reckon how I longs to get a cup of good yaupon."

Bishop, N. H. (Nathaniel Holmes). (1878). Voyage of the paper canoe: a geographical journey of 2500 miles, from Quebec to the Gulf of Mexico, during the years 1874-5. Boston: Lee and Shepard.

Yaupon Videos

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