Yaupon is North America's only native caffeinated plant species, and it has been consumed by Native American tribes for at least 10,000 years. Traditionally, the natural range of Yaupon extends from East Texas in the west, to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in the east.
While Yaupon's cousin, the Yerba Mate, grows throughout Southern Brazil and Northern Argentina, Yaupon is a North American species. In fact, Yaupon is endemic to the Southeastern United States, meaning that it naturally grows nowhere else. A disjunct population has been reported from the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, but the observations are scant, and we doubt that Yaupon is growing there naturally. Yaupon is North America's only native caffeinated plant species, and it has been consumed by Native American tribes for at least 10,000 years. Traditionally, the natural range of Yaupon extends from East Texas in...