Maytenus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Celastraceae (order Celastrales), comprising approximately 176 accepted species of trees and shrubs. The genus has an exceptionally wide distribution, spanning Central and South America, Southeast Asia, Micronesia, Australasia, the Indian Ocean islands, and Africa, and its members tolerate an unusually broad range of climates — from tropical lowland forests to subpolar environments.
The genus is perhaps best known in temperate horticulture through Maytenus boaria (the maitén), a willow-like evergreen tree native to the southern Andes of Chile and Argentina, and Maytenus magellanica, both of which are among the most cold-hardy representatives of an otherwise largely tropical genus. Other notable members include Maytenus phyllanthoides (Florida mayten), Maytenus ilicifolia, and Maytenus macrocarpa, the latter valued in traditional Amazonian medicine.
Taxonomically, Maytenus has undergone significant revision. The traditional, broadly drawn circumscription was found to be paraphyletic, leading to the transfer of many former members to the segregate genera Denhamia and Gymnosporia. In its current, narrower sense the genus remains one of the larger woody genera in the Celastraceae.
Distribution
Maytenus is distributed across Central and South America, Southeast Asia, Micronesia, Australasia, the Indian Ocean region, and Africa. Species occupy a remarkably wide climatic range, from tropical rainforests to subpolar zones in southern South America.
Taxonomy Notes
The traditional, broad circumscription of Maytenus was found to be paraphyletic. As a result, many species formerly placed in Maytenus have been reassigned to the related genera Denhamia and Gymnosporia, both also in the family Celastraceae. In its revised, narrower sense, approximately 176 species are currently accepted.
Cultural Uses
The bark of Maytenus krukovii has a range of documented medicinal properties and is sometimes used as an admixture in ayahuasca preparations in Amazonian traditions. Maytenus boaria (maitén) has long been valued in southern South America as a timber and fodder tree.
Cultivation
Maytenus boaria and Maytenus magellanica are the species most commonly cultivated in Europe and the United States, prized as the most cold-tolerant members of an otherwise tropical genus. Both are grown as ornamental evergreen trees in mild-temperate gardens.
