@dr_duke: Yaupon Holly makes a delicious tea that is in no way purgative. It's a close relative of Ilex Paraguariensis, used to make yerba mate tea. The Native Americans did have a ceremony in which they brewed a disturbingly potent batch of tea that all the warriors would drink; the last one to purge was considered to have the greatest strength and constitution, and was therefore given the most difficult mission. The purging associated with the ceremony was most likely caused by the combination of fasting, non-stop dancing, and over dosing on caffeine. In the late 1800's, yaupon was positioned to take it's place in the international tea trade. The naming Ilex Vomitoria was a strategic move by opposition to put people off the plant as a consumable. The berries are poisonous to people, but the birds love them. You can find information online about different ways of drying and roasting the leaves for use as tea.
