Ilex Vomitoria

Is anyone out there current in your Latin studies? I know those Burgess kids are! Ready to tell me what this is?

Ilex Vomitoria.

I know it as the tree-shrub outside my front door. And also as Yaupon Holly.

Isn’t it pretty? Don’t those berries look good for eating? Well, Samuel sure thinks so… the kid still puts everything into his mouth that will possibly fit in there!!!

If only he knew the Latin name for this shrub. I think the Vomitoria part of it would keep him away! Thankfully, he did not vomitoria after snacking on these this morning. But I was certainly watching him closely the rest of the day, looking for weird side-effects.

We found out some pretty interesting history on this shrub today, as we were checking out how poisonous it is. The Native American Indians roasted the leaves and bark, which contain caffeine, and made a black drink out of them. (Now that I know this, I won’t have to spend so much money on coffee  at the store! We’ve got our own caffeine source right outside the front door!)

Not only did the Indians use Ilex Vomitoria to get their morning off to the right start, but also to induce vomiting, calm nerves, cause hallucinogenic effects, and treat nightmares and sore eyes.

Good news to you Texans: You, too, can have a plant with such amazing medicinal purposes growing in your very own yard! Yaupon Holly is native to our area. So you can go to your local nursery and pick one up today!