Yerba_mate_young_plant (Ilex Paraguariensis)

Yerba mate (from Spanish[ˈʝeɾβa ˈmate]; Portuguese: erva-mate[ˈɛɾvɐ ˈmatʃe]) is a species of the holly (family Aquifoliaceae), with the binomial name of Ilex paraguariensis.

It is well known as the source of the beverage called mate, Chimarrão, Tererê (or Tereré) and other variations, traditionally consumed in subtropical South America, particularly northeastern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.^[1] It was first used and cultivated by the Guaraní people and in some Tupí communities in southern Brazil, prior to the European colonization. It was scientifically classified by the Swiss botanist Moses Bertoni, who settled in Paraguay in 1895.

Yerba mate, erva mate, mate, or maté Ilex paraguariensis
Ilex paraguariensis
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Aquifoliales
Family:	Aquifoliaceae
Genus:	Ilex
Species:	I. paraguariensis