bud wrote:
I don't think you'd want to brew this one as tea. The native americans used
to use this holly for vomiting. Look up the latin name and you'll see,
it's ilex vomitoria or something like that. If you do brew i wouldn't do it
after eating anything.

I just looked up Yaupon in the Peterson Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants.
It says the *berries* are poisonous and can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
The leaves, however, make an excellent tea.

Here's a site with some information on traditional uses:

http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/me...vomitoria.html

"Although early descriptions of aboriginal North American use of the black
drink characterized it as an emetic, this effect is believed to have
resulted from the consumption of enormous quantities of the beverage and/or
the addition of other purgative ingredients such as button snakeroot."

In any event, it makes an excellent ornamental and grows very well in the
Triangle area.