or yerba maté

Stimulating tealike beverage, popular in many South American countries, brewed from the dried leaves of an evergreen shrub or tree (Ilex paraguariensis) related to holly. It contains caffeine and tannin but is less astringent than tea. To brew maté, the dried leaves (yerba) are placed in dried hollow gourds (matés or culhas) decorated with silver and covered with boiling water and steeped. The tea is sucked from the gourd with a tube, often made of silver, with a strainer at one end to catch leaf particles. Though usually served plain, maté is sometimes flavored with milk, sugar, or lemon juice.

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orig. Margaretha Geertruida Zelle

(born Aug. 7, 1876, Leeuwarden, Neth.—died Oct. 15, 1917, Vincennes, near Paris, France) Dutch courtesan and alleged spy in World War I. In 1895 she married Campbell MacLeod, a Scottish officer, and lived in Java and Sumatra (1897–1902), after which they returned to Europe and separated. In 1905 she began to dance in Paris, calling herself Mata Hari (a Malay expression for the sun). Beautiful and exotic and willing to dance virtually nude, she soon had numerous lovers, including military officers. Details of her spying activities are unclear, but she apparently spied for Germany from 1916. She was arrested by the French in 1917, tried by a military court, and shot by firing squad.

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• For the ñandú bird see Rhea (bird).

Ñandú is a brand of yerba mate from Argentina, also sold in other countries where mate is enjoyed. Ñandú is the Spanish name of the Rhea bird.

See also

• Taragüí