Re: Yaupon Hollies

["Alex Netherton" <danetherton@email.msn.com>]

The Mocker is back, and I expect to hear the sound of ringing telephones
soon. Also, saw 2 Red Tailed hawks on the way back from Franklin today, both
near Sylva on the highway. They seemed to be scoping the median out for
prey.
When in South GA at an EE center, I did some research on Ilex vomitoria.
Seems the "Black Drink", made by the coastal Indians, was made from the
roasted leaves of Yaupon, and used as we use coffee, as a social drink,
offered to visitors for refreshment. The leaves were traded far inland. The
drink used in ceremonies (some authors say) was mistaken for the Black
Drink, but was made up of a vile concoction of several powerful emetics.
I myself have drunk the brew made from Yaupon leaves, and found it good
tasting, but as it seemed to have more caffeine than tea, coffee or
Coca-Cola, I had the "jitters" for hours, and I had a rather weak brew. The
Timucuans and others who used it much stronger, miust have been wired to the
extreme!
Alex Netherton
The Appalachian Naturalist
Asheville, NC
http://www.appalachian-naturalist.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sandy Cash" <scash@mindspring.com>
To: "Joshua Stuart Rose" <jsr6@duke.edu>; <Carolinabirds@duke.edu>
Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2001 8:21 PM
Subject: Re: Yaupon Hollies


> Correction: I said it was the weekend of the Spring CBC - what I meant was
> the Carolina Bird Club meeting in Southern Pines :).
>
> I think I have heard that the native American use of Yaupon (I. vomitoria)
> consisted primarily of a tea brewed as some kind of digestive and/or
> curative.  But I'm not 100% on that.  I do not know if the brewing
> counteracted the vomit-inducing properties of the plant or not.
>
> -Sandy
>
> --
> Sandy Cash
> Durham, NC
> scash@mindspring.com
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joshua Stuart Rose" <jsr6@duke.edu>
> To: <Carolinabirds@duke.edu>
> Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2001 4:29 PM
> Subject: Re: Yaupon Hollies
>
>
> > Kate and other Carolinabirders,
> >
> > The Latin name of the Yaupon Holly comes from the fact that the berries
> > make humans vomit; it was apparently used for this purpose by native
> > Americans. I'm not sure if this is always true, or if the berries lose
> > this property when they become edible to birds after freezing and
thawing
> > a few times. They also cause dia... um... Montezuma's Revenge, which
some
> > folks think assists in the successful dispersal of the seeds after
> > they've been eaten.
> >
> > Sandy Cash reports that the date of Dave Sibley's visit to the Regulator
> > Bookshop on 9th street in Durham, May 5, is also the date of the Durham
> > Spring Bird Count. Hmmmmmm. Maybe we should arrange to have a lunchtime
> > countdown in one of the 9th street restaurants...
> >
> > My girlfriend's suet feeder is finally attracting some customers, but
not
> > the ones I expected: Cardinals! Not sure if they really like the suet,
or
> > if they're just picking out the seeds. I'm just glad SOMEbody's eating
it!
> >
> > Good birding,
> >
> > Josh
> >
> > On Sun, 1 Apr 2001, Kate Finlayson wrote:
> > >
> > > Thanks for more interesting info. love the yaupon
> > > holly story. Is that why vomit is in its latin name?
> > > >
> > > > Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria), a species native to the NC
> > > > coastal plain. Apparently, the bright red berries are inedible when
> > > > they first ripen. Somehow, after 2-3 freezes, the freezing and
> > > > thawing renders them edible. Then the waxwings move in...
> >
> > Joshua S. Rose
> > Duke University
> > Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)
> >
> > jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
> > http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/
> >
> >
>