Eat The Weeds: Episode 121: The Hollies

[2962nicktucker]

Mr. Deane I have a question will the cylindrocladium fungus commonly found on the ilexs be harmful in your drinks? Thanks bud. Kayak Florida !

[EatTheWeeds]

@2962nicktucker I've never see it on Hollies

[EatTheWeeds]

@2962nicktucker I've never see it on Hollies

[EatTheWeeds]

@2962nicktucker I've never see it on Hollies

[EatTheWeeds]

@2962nicktucker I've never see it on Hollies

[EatTheWeeds]

@2962nicktucker I've never see it on Hollies

[EatTheWeeds]

@2962nicktucker @2962nicktucker I've never see it on Hollies

[jojostudrock]

Black Drink ,Oceola' favorite !

[shadowynne]

thanks for the great vids, you have earned another subscriber! thank you!

[TruthSmack]

Can you make a tea out of all hollys besides getting a bit ill (not fatal)?

[EatTheWeeds]

@TruthSmack I don't know. There are quite a few. I wouldn't think so.

[Jaahda]

hmmmm . muscadine (ine = alkaloid)? ...sounds dangerous to me ;-)

[Jaahda]

what are in those bottles behind you?

[EatTheWeeds]

@Jaahda One is five gallons of loquat wine, and the other is one gallon of muscadine wine.  I have since bottled the Loquat wine.

[EatTheWeeds]

@Jaahda Yeah, and as soon as it has aged I'm going to see how it affects mood and brain cells.

[Farfromhere001]

Please see my video on Sacred Hollies... hope you enjoy!!

I only made this video cause of you Green Deane! You inspired me!

Just search "Sacred Holly" to find my video!

[Farfromhere001]

Please see my video on Sacred Hollies... hope you enjoy!!!

I only made this video cause of you Green Deane! You inspired me!

[Imagoodbonobo]

In yerba mate plantations, male plants are preferred over females for both flavor and higher caffeine content. Dean, I wonder if you find any difference in taste between the female cultivars of Ilex vomitoria mentioned in this video and the wild male plants? I would assume based on evolutionary logic that male vomitoria trees would also have higher caffeine levels. I would also assume that the theobromine (active drug in chocolate and Ilex spp.) levels would differ between males and females.

[EatTheWeeds]

@Imagoodbonobo I think the question you ask has not been researched. However, between wild I. vomitoria and cultivars the cultivars have more caffeine, and in one study all they studied were female cultivars. The amount of caffein and antioxidants in I. vomitoria var nana and I. vomitoria ver. pendula is directly related to the amount of sunlight and nitrogen fertilizer, with the latter topping all in caffein and antioxidants. .

[Farfromhere001]

@Imagoodbonobo Please tell us more about this... why are the males better, etc?

[cascadejacques]

Fascinating video. A year ago I went to Chinatown & picked up a tea called "Bitter Nail Tea" which I gather is quite popular among the Chinese. If I'm not mistaken, the botanical is Ilex kudingcha. I had to give it away because it was so profoundly bitter that I could not tolerate it, & even the smallest amount of tea to water ratio produced a tea that was, for me, almost vomit inducing.

Are you familiar with this plant? I like Mate well enough & wouldn't mind finding something similar. Thanks!

[juglanscinerea]

very interesting!

[tataycleto]

can this grow in the philippines,? i am interested to grow and have my own source of tea. I have tried yerba mate in Argentina, it is really good, better tasting than camelia senensis. thank you

[scotchheather]

Where do the 'English Hollies' fit in/? Or is that what you call the European hollies?

[EatTheWeeds]

@scotchheather The English holly is like the American holly except it has a lighter outline. You can read about all of it on my website.Type "hollies" into the archive window. The English holly has been used for a long time.

[oshuatee]

It would be interesting to see a video on how your yard is set up! Or if that gives away too much privacy, just some general ideas on how one would go about adding edible plants to the landscape.

If an entire lawn was covered in weeds then people would have no choice but to trample over them to reach plants currently in bloom, right?

[PickablePlants]

lwww.plants.usda.gov/java/prof­ile?symbol=ILEXl is telling me that there aren't any in utah... lame. Well I guess i better make a trip to the east! :)

[0MrENigma0]

Wonderful as always!

I wish you lived in CA so that there were more plants to learn about that are in this area... but you did give me a contact related to foraging classes locally... I just need to find that email.

Anyway... Thank you so much.... and PS... ha ha with the tie I thought you were going to do some Chip'n'dale dancing... ;-)

[tgardening]

Green Deene: I read on your web page that Common Winterberry (Ilex verticillata) makes a good tea without caffeine. Are you saying that it has essentially no caffeine? Or just 1/2 or 1/4 (for example) of the caffeine as a cup of coffee? I think I'll go out this weekend and pick the leaves as Winterberry grows all over New England! Thanks.

[danthadon87]

Its a shame our society has lost its connection with nature and rather chosen to evolve around a worthless currency that corrupts us. Green Dean you are the man!

[DeamonDubstep]

@danthadon87 HERE HERE!!! I myself am considering leaving, to live off the grid as a bushman. Doing an incredible amount of research first though. :)

[SurvivalMedicine]

I have often enjoyed some yaupon tea. Thanks for the videos, they are fantastic.

[pinkytm1]

I looked much more yesterday and I determined that the original style Ilex vomitoria was very common in the woods I looked at(and it was the plant I got a few days ago) and I can not say for sure if I saw any of the other hollies Green Deane mentions.

[Inquisitor53]

@pinkytm1 The dwarf & weeping variety are cultivated specimens. Only the common is native. There is plenty of the common variety here in the Florida wilds but I have to visit a friend who's a landscaper & has a few trees of the common & weeping variety in his yard. He gives me a call when he wants them trimmed. I usually walk away with about 20 - 30 pounds of leaves from the common variety, 10 - 15 of the weeping. I trim them about 4 times a year. Spring is when they're most potent.

[StephieMcCarthy]

I'd always heard holly was poisonous, so I am intrigued by this information.

[EatTheWeeds]

@StephieMcCarthy The berries of the North American hollies are toxic, but the leaves of some species have been used for drink for centuries.

[Inquisitor53]

I've been drinking yaupon tea since I was in my teens 40 years ago & always take a bag of roasted, uncrushed leaves with me when I go on my canoe/camping trips. I crush the leaves just before putting them in my tea-ball to be put in a cup of scalding-hot water & let steep. Great substitute for morning coffee, better actually because unlike tea or coffee, yaupon tastes great without any flavorings or sweeteners. I can vouch for the high-test 'kick' in the pendular, or weeping, variety...

[pinkytm1]

@Inquisitor53 As soon as the sun comes up today I'm going back out and collect some leaves from a mature pendular/weeping variety :)

[pinkytm1]

Drinking first glass. I air dried the 24 hours in front of a heater (it's 46 F outside 7.8 C).

I heated in a 400 F /204 C oven for a 8 minutes. Got very brown. Maybe less would be better. I boiled water and allowed to cool 4 minutes. I then added the tea in an infuser and steeped for 2 minutes. I added sweeten (splendia) as I do with all my tea. The tea is not bitter or astringent at all. Its very drinkable. Color of mine is like apple juice.

[pinkytm1]

@pinkytm1 I made a second extraction (I think people in South America do multi extractions of the same leaves)and allowed it to steep 5 minutes. Darker and more flavor.

[EatTheWeeds]

@pinkytm1 Which holly did you use?

[pinkytm1]

@EatTheWeeds It was definitely one of the Ilex vomitoria varieties(small leaves, boy scout finger tips). I can not say for sure which as it was a juvenile with no berries. I saw many adult weeping(with red berries), that smaller bush style with black berries, and non weeping younger plants. I used a non-weeping younger plant. Which may in fact been a weeping plant in the young stage.

[EatTheWeeds]

@pinkytm1 Well... that's a mixed message.... the vomitoria et al have lots of little vestiges of leaves, whereas the galberry tends to be the boyscout salute shape.

[pinkytm1]

@EatTheWeeds It has vestiages of teeth on the leave.

[EatTheWeeds]

@pinkytm1 They all do except the dahoo, which can have them or not. The vomitoria and the glabra do not really look alike. The glabra is more spatular shaped and the vomitoria more lance shaped.

[EatTheWeeds]

@pinkytm1 Send me a picture, or find one like it on the internet.

[pinkytm1]

@EatTheWeeds

cricket.biol.sc.edu/acmoore/52­7/plants/Ilex_vomitoria.jpg

With no berries.

[pinkytm1]

Youtube has messed up the URL :( ah if you retype the 527 part it works.

[pinkytm1]

@EatTheWeeds

imgur com/zabUs.jpg



[pinkytm1]

@pinkytm1 add the dot in between imgur and com.

[Inquisitor53]

@pinkytm1 This is just a matter of taste but you may want to try this too.

I roast mine at a lower oven temp., say 300 - 350*F, as the lower heat & slower roasting keeps in more of the flavor, & roast until there is no green in any of the leaves (again for flavor). When all the leaves are roasted I keep that batch in a zip-loc bag for my next canoe/camping tour.

When brewing my 1st cup of the morning I pour boiling water into my large coffee mug w/ the infuser full of freshly-crushed leaves...

[NorthSouthSurvival]

Another great video Deane! Love your channel! Keep up the great work!!

[pinkytm1]

Just back from my walk these trees are very common in East Texas!

[RichTheRidgeHunter]

Is there a false holly, or a bad look alike?

I thank you for the news letter and as always, your time.

Thanks, Rich

[GoldenFinchFellow]

this vid was totally just a caffeine come down from those wines wasn't it haha just joking! thanks much Green Dean :) I was big on mate for a while so it's neat to see something closer to home.

[feralkevin]

Thanks, Green Dean! That's the info I've been wanting for years! I used to be a mate drinker for many years, and would love it if the vomitoria grew wild here.

[Jesses001]

I was always told to never deal with any hollies in any way at all. Of course I found that a lot of things I was told by people who should know better was wrong. I will try some tea next time I come across one. It is easy to idetify these, expecialy the American Holly. Enjoy your wine by the way. I wish I could figure out why my muskidins will not produce anymore, but seems so healthy otherwise.

[rushianokun]

Hey Argentine here! We consume mate all the time in all sorts of situations, It is lovely you have your variant with your own "native" flora! I really wonder how does one of those hollie mate taste like.

Thanks for the quality!

[Ghost2743]

"because weee....."

haha like the good eats intro. i like it!

[JMMELGRATTI]

I drinking mate right now, like every day, I can't live without mate , I'm from Argentina.

Love your videos.

[DemonHide]

I got family in Brazil, they got a brand called Matte Leao or Matte Lion. Wasn't sure what it was, but they gave us like 10 boxes of tea so it's all good. Good to know we have an equivalent here in the States.

[DrunknShooter]

We had an American Holly bush in our back yard when I was growing up. My Mom was always waring us about how poison the berries were.

Incidentally, I thought you looked like a Chippendales dancer in that bow tie.

[TheDudeRulez09]

I love MATE!!!!! and I live in 800 acres of yaupon, I LOVE IT!!!!!

[Futil3]

Nice bow-tie man

[nedeljkomostar]

man you are an expert! I thought I know a lots but you are the one. Thank you for sharing.

[b1gje55e]

Your videos continue to get better.

[EatTheWeeds]

@b1gje55e Do something 121 times and you tend to get better.

[themoderateextremist]

I have the spiny leafed holly tree in my front and back yards. It starts really easily, I dig up the sprouts in the front yard and give the new plants away.

[themoderateextremist]

@themoderateextremist ... in southern ohio near Cincinnati

[EatTheWeeds]

@themoderateextremist You have "A" spiny leafed holly. There are several. Make sure it is an American holly.

[hellerZauberer]

My uncle went to Uraguay for his mission and brought home a mate straw and cup with him. It was pretty neat.

[ramonalisa]

cool



[fatturdburger]

Great vid!

[Iseeit4u]

So glad you made this. I was considering cutting down our hollies and now know better. Can you do anything with the berries?

[EatTheWeeds]

@Iseeit4u The berries are mildly toxic, unless you are a kid, then they are quite toxic.

[pinkytm1]

I'm going to be on the look out for one of those caffeinated Hollies when I walk my dog. We will do our best to fertilize it to :)

[me2gingko]

very interesting... thanks for the info.

[Poloduaill]

Your videos are great, thank you very much for posting them.