8 ● The Palmetto Volume 31:3 ● 2014 PALM 31_3working.indd 11 Volume 31:3 Photo byPeg Urban. yaupon flowers.A buckeyebutterflynectaringon Background image: Photo: W.D. Brush, hosted by the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database ● 2014

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of r planted o wild-grown shrubs in a matter of minutes. Yaupon is based on the research of Matt Palumbo, a UF graduate holly leaves brew up into a tasty cocktail of stimulating alkaloids student who worked in the lab of Professor Steve Talcott in and health-conferring antioxidants. Yaupon tea was a daily UF’s Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. With pleasure for the Timucuan Indians of North Central Florida Steve’s Waters 2695 Alliance HPLC System with a Supercosil and the Seminoles and Crackers who followed them. LC-18 Column and PDA Detector (an elaborate chromato- The claim that yaupon tea is tasty was recently supported graphic machine that works in what are to me mysterious ways by the results of a blind taste test conducted by UF under- to generate data that are interpretable only by biochemists), graduate Alisha Wainwright. Alisha compared an infusion she Matt discovered that in addition to caffeine, theobromine, brewed from yaupon leaves with yerba mate, a tea made from and other alkaloids, yaupon contains high concentrations of the leaves of a closely related but commercially available Ilex antioxidants including various isomers of chlorogenic acid, species from South America. To her surprise, most subjects, in- coumaric acid, and a cocktail of flavonoids. Concentrations cluding confirmed yerba mate drinkers, preferred yaupon. This of these compounds are highest in plants grown in full sun result is compelling given that yerba mate is exported from whereas psychoactive alkaloid concentrations are especially Argentina and Paraguay by the hundreds of tons each year high in young leaves from female plants fertilized with nitro- whereas yaupon is currently under-appreciated as a beverage. gen. Females can be distinguished by their stamen-lacking I can no longer hold off acknowledging that the scientific flowers and later by the presence of little, round, red, and juicy name for yaupon is Ilex vomitoria and that it was indeed used fruits favored by brown thrashers and bluebirds. Matt also found by Amerindians in ritual purification ceremonies. I also need that leaves of the “pendula” variety contain higher concentra- to stress that biochemical analysis of yaupon foliage shows that tions of caffeine than “nana,” but that nitrogen fertilization it is no more emetic than coffee, tea, or any other caffeinated boosts caffeine several fold in both wild types and cultivars. beverage. I suspect but cannot prove that this nomenclatural Steve Talcott, now at Texas A&M University, has contin- affront resulted from a well-placed bribe to a prominent ued to explore the chemistry of yaupon, especially its excep- Scottish plant taxonomist by unscrupulous Ceylon tea tionally high concentrations of antioxidants. In a recent study merchants in England who wanted to crush competition from his lab, for example, yaupon extracts were shown to have from this Native American product. anti-inflammatory and various other chemo-preventive effects. Early English chroniclers of life in our region were appar- As pointed out by C.M. Hudson in his classic (and recently ently more fascinated by ritual vomiting than about the sterling re-printed) book Black Drink, yaupon tea was widely marketed qualities of yaupon as beverage. Perhaps I reveal my Celtic through the 18th and into the 19th Centuries in the Carolinas roots, but I suspect those rich Anglo-Saxons were a prim as “cassina,” in England as “Carolina tea,” and in France as bunch. There were indeed special occasions when Timucuan “Appalachina.” Use of that vernacular name “cassina” caused and later Seminole warriors vomited after drinking huge some confusion about the tea source because Ilex cassine quantities of an especially strong brew of yaupon, referred to (dahoon holly), which was the only local species recognized as “black drink,” but that was only after fasting for days and initially by Linneaus, also grows on the southeastern coastal many nights of singing, dancing, and generally carrying on – plain. That confusion was cleared up by research in the lab Koolaid would have had the same effect. And what’s the big of botanist Brad Bennett at Florida International University. deal about vomiting? As a child, the mere mention of Sunday Based on its high caffeine concentration and high caffeine: school or lima bean ingestion could induce that response. A theobromine ratio, the researchers concluded that Ilex vomitoria few minutes after my performance, I would be ready to go out was the likely source of the tea that enjoyed such widespread to play baseball or eat ice cream, options seldom granted by favor. Those vibrant local and international markets for yaupon my not-so-easily-fooled parents. I should add that ritualistic crashed after the Civil War at least partially due to its association vomiting is practiced in cultures all over the world – even with indigenous people and the poor. The scientific name dogs recognize the benefits of an occasional purge. conferred on yaupon in 1789 by Scottish botanist William The people first encountered by Spaniards in Florida exuded Aiton certainly did not help its reputation. good health and towered over the Europeans. The Timucuans of While ceremonial uses of the “Black Drink” are described North Central Florida, in particular, impressed those gold- ad nauseam in even the scientific literature, milder brews of crazed, pox-laden, Inquisition-fleeing, and otherwise torment- yaupon were widely consumed as a daily beverage by settlers ed newcomers by their size and grace. Timucuans did enjoy and Amerindians alike. I suspect strongly that during the more protein than the Old World city-bred bread-eaters, but Seminole Indian Wars, the effectiveness of native warriors a heretofore unrecognized advantage of the Timucuans and was enhanced by yaupon consumption. Note that the “asi” in many of their trading partners all over eastern North America “cassina” is the Muskogee name for I. vomitoria. “Asi Yahola,” was daily consumption of antioxidant packed yaupon tea. which means “Black Drink Singer,” comes to us as the familiar Much of what we know about the chemistry of yaupon tea name “Osceola,” the famous Seminole leader. Hundreds of

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PALM 31_3 working.indd 12 1/5/15 9:44 AM years before those bloody wars and hundreds of miles north References and Further Reading of the species’ natural range, other Amerindians were enjoy- Crown, P.L., T.E. Emerson, J. Gu, W.J. Hurst, T.R. Pauketat, and T. Ward. 2012. ing yaupon tea. This evidence for an extensive trade network Ritual black drink consumption at Cahokia. Proceedings of the National Academy in North America more than 500 years before the European of Sciences 109: 13944-13949. onslaught was only recently discovered by a team of chemically Edwards, A.L. and B.C. Bennett. 2005. Diversity of methylxanthine content in savvy archeologists excavating in Greater Cahokia, the massive Ilex cassine L. and Ilex vomitoria Ait.: Assessing sources of the North American pre-Columbian ruins near current day St. Louis. stimulant cassina. Economic Botany 59:275–285. After various failed attempts over the past century to revive Hudson, C.M. (Editor). 1979. Black Drink - A Native American Tea. The University the yaupon market, a new day has dawned for this delicious of Georgia Press, Athens. and healthful local beverage. Not less than four companies are Noratto, G.D., Y. Kim, S.T. Talcott, and S.U. Mertens-Talcott. 2011. Flavonol-rich now marketing yaupon products, all easily found through the fractions of yaupon holly leaves (Ilex vomitoria, Aquifoliaceae) induce microRNA- wonders of the world-wide-web. You can now purchase either 146a and have anti-inflammatory and chemopreventive effects in intestinal green or black yaupon tea, concentrates, and blends. You can myofribroblast CCD-18Co cells. Fitoterapia 82:557–569. also go out in the yard, grab some leaves, and make your own. O’Brien, T.G. and M.F. Kinnaird. 2003. Caffeine and conservation. Science 300: 587. To make a quick cup of yaupon tea, pan roast a handful Palumbo, M.J., S.T. Talcott, and F.E. Putz. 2007. Nitrogen fertilizer and gender of fresh leaves until they are mostly black. Crunch up the crispy effects on the secondary metabolism of yaupon, a caffeine-containing North leaves and brew them as you would any other tea. If you have American holly. Oecologia 151:1–9. more time, air dry the leaves for a few days and then dry them Palumbo, M.J., S.T. Talcott, and F.E. Putz. 2009. Ilex vomitoria Ait. (yaupon): thoroughly in a warm oven. Timucuans reportedly boiled their A native North American source of a caffeinated and antioxidant-rich tea. teas for hours, but I suspect that this procedure was used only Economic Botany 63:130–137. for occasional ritual cleansing with “black drink.” For daily Wainwright, A.E. and F.E. Putz. 2014. A misleading name reduces marketability consumption, they apparently preferred “white drink,” a weaker of a healthful and stimulating natural product: A comparative taste test of infu- brew with a froth raised by blowing into it through a hollow reed – sions of a native Florida holly (Ilex vomitoria) and yerba mate (I. paraguariensis). Timucuan cappuccino. Paraguayans cool smoke their yerba mate Economic Botany 68: 350-354. leaves before crushing and brewing. Unfortunately, given the ritual captured by yaupon’s About the Author scientific name, I worry that the species will continue to be Francis E. “Jack” Putz is a professor of biology and forestry at the University used primarily as an ornamental shrub in suburban gardens of Florida. His collection of essays about local natural history, some of which and sprayed with herbicides in pine plantations where it will be familiar to readers of the Palmetto, was recently published on Kindle grows wild. Although Alisha’s study showed that on the and is available through Amazon: Finding Home in the Sandy Lands of the basis of taste, even yerba mate drinkers preferred yaupon, South: A Naturalist’s Journey. she also found that knowledge of yaupon’s scientific name would keep many people from purchasing it. In other words, the Shakespearean quote with which this article commenced apparently does not apply to beverages. This finding is unfortunate Apply for an FNPS given that for millions of people who live within its native range, yaupon could provide a local, caffeinated, antioxidant-rich, Research or and otherwise healthful alternative to imported tea, coffee, Conservation Grant and other caffeine crops. Let’s hope that the fledgling yaupon FNPS Endowment Research Grants industries flourish and prove the Bard correct. fund research on native plants. Grants ($1500 or less), are awarded for But what if yaupon becomes an overnight market sensa- a 1-year period, and support research that forwards the mission of the tion? Will exponential rise in demand for yaupon tea result in Florida Native Plant Society. excessive resource mining followed by domination of the trade FNPS Conservation Grants support applied native plant conservation projects in Florida. Grants ($5000 or less) are awarded for a 1-year by agribusiness? Will consumers purchase yaupon tea made period. Projects must promote the preservation, conservation, or restoration of from genetically engineered clones grown in noxious chemical rare or imperiled native plant taxa and rare or imperiled native plant communities. slurries of inorganic nutrients? I am actually not too worried. Proposed projects must be sponsored by an FNPS Chapter. Given the ease with which yaupon is cultivated as a hedge, Application guidelines and details are online at www.fnps.org – click I envision neighbors joining together to grow their own leaves on ‘Participate/Grants and Awards’. Questions about grant programs should be sent to [email protected]. in the shade of restored pine savannas. And rather than roller chopping and herbiciding yaupon, plantation foresters might Application deadline is March 6, 2015. Awards will be announced at the 2015 Annual Conference in Tallahassee. Awardees do not have to be present begin to treat it as a valuable non-timber forest product, which at the Conference to receive an award. will have numerous environmental and financial benefits.

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