Get to know the yerba mate plant

This is how our beloved yerba mate plant grows in its red soil.

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We tell you some curiosities about yerba mate:

Scientific name: Ilex Paraguariensis.
It is a native tree from the Paranaense rainforest which, in the wild, reaches a height of between 12 and 16 metres.
There are yerbales up to 100 years old in some Jesuit reductions.
It is perennial, i.e. the tree regenerates and produces more leaves after harvesting.
Its leaves have a serrated edge with well marked veins. They are predominantly dark green with lighter tones combined with yellow.
The fruit of the Yerba Mate grows next to the flower and looks like a small red ball.
The seed has a shell that covers it, so when it falls on the ground, it does not disintegrate and cannot germinate on its own.

The colours of the fruit vary according to maturity, turning from green in the early stages to dark purple at harvest time.
The fruits are globular, 5 to 7 mm in diameter, and contain between four and eight seeds.
The fruits are usually harvested between January and April for the extraction of seeds, being necessary about 7 kg of them to obtain 1 kg of seeds.

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Now that you know about it, whenever you see red soil look for the yerba mate seed, and you will find it for sure!