The history and ethnobotany of Cape herbal teas

A review is presented of Cape plants that have been (or still are) used as hot beverages (i.e., tisanes or “teas”, consumed primarily as food items but partly also as traditional medicines). Data are presented on the historical and contemporary ethnobotanical uses of 52 species from 15 Cape genera (Agathosma, Aspalathus, Catha, Cyclopia, Geranium, Helichrysum, Lessertia, Leysera, Mentha, Mesembryanthemum, Plecostachys, Rafnia, Stachys, Thesium and Viscum). The tradition of drinking tea (and coffee), introduced by early European settlers in the 17th century, appears to have stimulated the use of numerous indigenous plants as tea and coffee substitutes. The fact that Khoi and San vernacular names for tea plants have never been documented might indicate that the drinking of herbal tea or bush tea was not part of the indigenous Khoi and San culinary traditions in the pre-colonial era (before the introduction of tea and coffee to the Cape). Several Cape “teas” have remained poorly known or apparently lost their popularity (e.g. Leysera gnaphalodes, once considered to be the most widely used Cape tea) while others appear to be relatively recent inventions (e.g. rooibos tea, Aspalathus linearis, conspicuous by its absence in the early literature and first mentioned in the historical record in the late 19th century). In contrast, honeybush tea or Cape tea (Cyclopia species, first recorded in 1830) has remained popular since the 18th century but only recently became an important item of commerce. There is evidence that some species were mainly used as adulterants or to improve the flavour of the tea (e.g. by enhancing the fermentation process). Some Cape herbal teas with commercial potential as new functional foods currently lack scientific data on the main chemical constituents and their modes of action.