''Ilex guayusa'' ( or ) is a species of
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
of the
holly genus, native to the
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...
. One of four known
caffeinated
Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine to ...
holly trees, the leaves of the guayusa tree are harvested fresh and brewed like a
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
for their stimulative effects.
Description
''Ilex guayusa'' is an
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
which grows tall.
The
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are ovate, elliptic, oblong or lanceolate; long, wide; with serrate or dentate margin.
The
flowers
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
are small and white, arranged in
thyrses.
The fruit is spherical and red, in diameter.
Distribution and habitat
''I. guayusa'' is native to the upper Amazonian regions of
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, and southern
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, between of elevation.
However, it has also been collected in
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
in 1939.
It is present in evergreen or deciduous premontane forests, especially ones dominated by ''
Dictyocaryum'' palms.
Guayusa has been collected only rarely in the wild by
botanists and is known almost exclusively as a
cultivated plant (especially in the Ecuadorian provinces of
Napo and
Pastaza).
Ecology
![Photo of Ilex Guayusa tree](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Photo_of_Ilex_Guayusa_tree.jpg)
This species is found wild and cultivated in sandy-
loam
Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...
y soils of pH 4.34–5.01 with low
cation-exchange capacity and high metal content. The vegetation type preferred is lowland and premontane, neotropical jungle where conditions of soil, precipitation and humidity are appropriate for its development. Despite being a
monoecious
Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy.
Monoecy is conne ...
species and prone to floral
polygamy
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...
, ''Ilex guayusa'' appears to yield little fertile material, so it relies mostly on asexual reproduction (
basal shoots, sprouts and suckers). In its initial growth stages, ''Ilex guayusa'' behaves as an
understory species, becoming a shrub with spreading branches when it receives higher amounts of light, eventually becoming a tree.
History
The earliest evidence of human utilization of this species is a 1,500-year-old bundle of guayusa leaves found in a medicine man's tomb in the
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
n
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
, far beyond the natural range of the plant.
Father Juan Lorenzo Lucero reported in 1683 the daily consumption of guayusa in infusions by the
Jivaroan peoples
The Jivaroan peoples are the indigenous peoples in the headwaters of the Marañon River and its tributaries, in northern Peru and eastern Ecuador. The tribes speak the Chicham languages.
Their traditional way of life relies on gardening, and ...
.
In the 18th century, several missionaries in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru wrote about the uses of the plant, and some of them also consumed the infusion citing digestive and stimulant properties.
The
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
knew about the medicinal uses of the plant and traded it actively.
A grove found in 1857 by
Richard Spruce
Richard Spruce (10 September 1817 – 28 December 1893) was an English botanist specializing in bryology. One of the great Victorian botanical explorers, Spruce spent 15 years exploring the Amazon from the Andes to its mouth, and was one of t ...
near the town of
Baños, Ecuador was supposedly cultivated since
precolumbian times.
Vernacular names
Spanish: guayusa
Kichwa: waisa
Shuar
The Shuar are an Indigenous people of Ecuador and Peru. They are members of the Jivaroan peoples, who are Amazonian tribes living at the headwaters of the Marañón River.
Name
Shuar, in the Shuar language, means "people". The people who speak ...
: wayus, wais
Uses
Leaves of ''Ilex guayusa'' are used to make an infusion, especially in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia.
After harvest, leaves are dried, which allows flavor to develop.
Jivaroan peoples
The Jivaroan peoples are the indigenous peoples in the headwaters of the Marañon River and its tributaries, in northern Peru and eastern Ecuador. The tribes speak the Chicham languages.
Their traditional way of life relies on gardening, and ...
in Ecuador and Peru also prepare a drink from the leaves to be drunk in large amounts during pre-dawn ceremonies that involve the vomiting of the excess drink to wash out the stomach and small intestine and avoid absorbing too much caffeine.
A ritual use by the
Quechua people involves drinking guayusa infusion to have foretelling dreams for successful hunting expeditions.
Guayusa is also consumed at parties and local festivals as a social drink, especially by the Kichua people in Ecuador.
In the three aforementioned countries, guayusa is used in the preparation of artisanal alcoholic drinks.
Chemical composition
![Dried bundles of leaves of Ilex guayusa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Dried_bundles_of_leaves_of_Ilex_guayusa.jpg)
Guayusa leaves contain
caffeine
Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine class. It is mainly used recreationally as a cognitive enhancer, increasing alertness and attentional performance. Caffeine acts by blocking binding of adenosine t ...
(1.73–3.48 %),
theobromine
Theobromine, also known as xantheose, is the principal alkaloid of ''Theobroma cacao'' (cacao plant). Theobromine is slightly water-soluble (330 mg/L) with a bitter taste. In industry, theobromine is used as an additive and precursor to s ...
and other dimethylxanthines (among them
paraxanthine and
theophylline).
Guayusa leaves also contain
L-theanine
Theanine , also known as L-γ-glutamylethylamide and ''N''5-ethyl-L-glutamine, is an amino acid analogue of the proteinogenic amino acids L-glutamate and L-glutamine and is found primarily in particular plant and fungal species. It was disco ...
,
gallic acid
Gallic acid (also known as 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid) is a trihydroxybenzoic acid with the formula C6 H2( OH)3CO2H. It is classified as a phenolic acid. It is found in gallnuts, sumac, witch hazel, tea leaves, oak bark, and other plants. It i ...
,
guanidine,
isobutyric acid,
nicotinic acid
Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, is an organic compound and a form of vitamin B3, an essential human nutrient. It can be manufactured by plants and animals from the amino acid tryptophan. Niacin is obtained in the diet from a variet ...
,
ascorbic acid
Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) an ...
,
riboflavin
Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, is a vitamin found in food and sold as a dietary supplement. It is essential to the formation of two major coenzymes, flavin mononucleotide and flavin adenine dinucleotide. These coenzymes are involved in ...
,
choline,
pyridoxine
Pyridoxine, is a form of vitamin B6 found commonly in food and used as a dietary supplement. As a supplement it is used to treat and prevent pyridoxine deficiency, sideroblastic anaemia, pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy, certain metabolic disorde ...
,
triterpenes,
chlorogenic acid and sugars among other compounds.
See also
*
Yerba mate
Yerba mate or yerba-maté (''Ilex paraguariensis''; from Spanish ; pt, erva-mate, or ; gn, ka'a, ) is a plant species of the holly genus ''Ilex'' native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leave ...
(''Ilex paraguariensis'') - South American caffeinated holly species used to make ''Mate.
*
Yaupon holly
''Ilex vomitoria'', commonly known as yaupon () or yaupon holly, is a species of holly that is native to southeastern North America. The word ''yaupon'' was derived from the Catawban ''yą́pą'', from ''yą-'' tree + ''pą'' leaf. Another commo ...
(''Ilex vomitoria'') - southeastern North American caffeinated holly species used to make the
Black Drink
Black drink is a name for several kinds of ritual beverages brewed by Native Americans in the Southeastern United States. Traditional ceremonial people of the Yuchi, Caddo, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Choctaw, Muscogee and some other Indigenous peop ...
.
*
Kuding (''Ilex kudingcha'') - Asian holly species used with ''
Ligustrum robustum
''Ligustrum robustum'' grows as a shrub or small tree up to tall though old specimens of more than a hundred years have been observed with a height of . The fruit of the shrub is an ellipsoid berry, bluish-purple when fully ripe, × . ...
'' for Chinese ''kǔdīng chá'' tea.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3772280
guayusa
''Ilex guayusa'' ( or ) is a species of tree of the holly genus, native to the Amazon Rainforest. One of four known caffeinated holly trees, the leaves of the guayusa tree are harvested fresh and brewed like a tea for their stimulative effects. ...
Flora of the Amazon
Ecuadorian cuisine
Herbal and fungal stimulants
Herbal tea
Medicinal plants of South America
Oneirogens
Trees of Ecuador
Trees of Peru
Trees of Colombia
Guayusa
''Ilex guayusa'' ( or ) is a species of tree of the holly genus, native to the Amazon Rainforest. One of four known caffeinated holly trees, the leaves of the guayusa tree are harvested fresh and brewed like a tea for their stimulative effects. ...