| Ilex guayusa | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Aquifoliales |
| Family: | Aquifoliaceae |
| Genus: | Ilex |
| Species: | I. guayusa |
| Binomial name | |
| Ilex guayusa |
|
Ilex guayusa, commonly known as "guayusa" or "wayusa" (prounced "why-you-suh"), is an Amazonian tree of the holly genus, native to the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest.
“The Jivaro say guayusa is so habituating that before it is offered to a visitor, she is warned that once she drinks it, she will ever after return to the Ecuadorian Jungle” - Michael Harner
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Three species of hollies yield xanthines. The best known is yerba maté, Ilex paraguariensis, the national drink of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. A second is known in the Carolinas as yaupon holly, or the Black Drink, Ilex vomitoria, the only caffeine plant native to North America. The third and by far the most mysterious is Ilex guayusa. A tall tree native to the eastern montaña of Ecuador and Peru, yet sporadic in distribution, it has been collected only rarely by botanists is known almost exclusively as a cultivated plant. According to Harvard ethnobotanist Tim Plowman, it has never been found in flower. As a testament to guayusa's revered status throughout South America, a 1,500-year-old bundle of guayusa leaves was found by Harvard Ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes in a medicine man's tomb high in the Bolivian Andes, far beyond the natural range of the plant.
In addition to drinking cups of guayusa like many Americans drink coffee, indigenous hunters will drink guayusa to sharpen their instincts and call it the “Night Watchman" because it helps them stay alert and awake all night. For many Ecuadorian indigenous people, the morning drinking of guayusa is a social ritual. The leaves are boiled to produce a tea; due to the high caffeine content, the same leaves are often used multiple times, sometimes for several days. Fresh leaves are used as well as dried leaves, which are dried in rolls and strung together as a wreath resembling a Hawaiian lei.
In addition to caffeine, guayusa also contains guanidine.[citation needed] Functioning as a balanced stimulant, the Kichwa also say that guayusa promotes restful sleep and good dreams. Unlike coffee, it is said to be good for excessive acidity and other problems in the stomach and bile. It is both energizing and relaxing at the same time and develops mental strength.
The plant can "contain more than 2.0% caffeine"[1], but most reports claim it has approximately 1.57% caffeine by dry weight.
"Wayusa" as spelled in the indigenous Kichwa language of Amazonian Ecuadorian. Also pronounced "Why-sa" by the Kichwa people and "Why-ees" by the Shuar people of Amazonian Ecuador.
RUNA (Comprised of Fundacion Runa in Ecuador & Runa LLC in the United States) is building the first commercial supply chain using fair trade and organic principles for guayusa from the Ecuadorian Amazon. Runa works directly with indigenous farming families to bring a new economic value to this culturally and environmentally important plant.
Classification System: APG II (down to family level)
Main Page
Cladus: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiospermae
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: core
eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Cladus: Euasterids
II
Ordo: Aquifoliales
Familia: Aquifoliaceae
Genus: Ilex
Species: Ilex
guayusa
Ilex guayusa Loes.
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