Ilex paraguariensis St.Hil., Aquifoliaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 8 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Brazilian tea, mate, Paraguay tea, Paraguayan tea, yerba mate

French: thé du Paraguay

Spanish: maté, yerba maté

Habit:  tree

Description:  "Evergreen shrubs or small trees 4-7 m tall.  Leaves dark green, coriaceous, elliptic to obovate, 2.5-13 (-25) cm long, 2-6.4 cm wide, margins undulate and coarsely crenate in the upper 2/3.  Flowers in numerous small cymes along the current year's growth, usually 1-2 cm long, peduncles 0.5-0.8 cm long; calyx lobes 4, 0.4-0.6 mm long; corolla lobes usually 4-5, 1.5-2 mm long; ovary 4-celled" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 224).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "cultivated and sparingly naturalized in mesic valleys" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 224).

Propagation:  Seed, spread by birds (Staples et al., 2000; p. 16).

Native range:  Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 224).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 224) Voucher cited: Grant 7544 (BISH)

Additional information:
Additional online information about Ilex paraguariensis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Ilex paraguariensis as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Ilex paraguariensis may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral/Imada, Clyde T. 2000. Survey of invasive or potentially invasive cultivated plants in Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers No. 65. 35 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).