The Plant:
The yerba maté tree looks similar to an orange tree, with a grayish trunk usually measuring 20-25 centimeters in diameter. Yerba maté is ready to harvest after seven years of growth, and usually doesn't exceed a height of 15 meters.Yerba maté is a widely-cultivated, medium-sized evergreen tree that can grow to 20 m high in the wild. Commonly, when cultivated, it is pruned into a shrubby, 4–8 m tall tree. Yerba maté is in the holly family, and bears holly-like leaves that are quite stiff and leathery. In the wild it grows near streams, and thrives at 1,500–2,000 feet above sea level. It has graceful, full-leafed branches, and white flowers that produce small red, black, or yellow berries. It is Ilex's tough, leathery leaves that are used medicinally and as a natural, refreshing tea beverage throughout South America. Yerba maté is indigenous to Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay; however, it is now cultivated in many tropical countries to supply a world demand for its leaves...
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