Maytenus

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Maytenus
Maytenus boaria, temperate's climate tree
Maytenus boaria, temperate's climate tree
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Celastrales
Family: Celastraceae
Genus: Maytenus

Maytenus is a genus of plant in family Celastraceae. The genus is distributed through the Americas: north to Mexico and south to Tierra del Fuego; South Asia (Yemen, Malaysia and Thailand); and Africa: northwest to Canary Islands, northeast to Ethiopia, and south to South Africa. It grows in a very wide variety of climates; from tropical to subpolar. It contains the following species (but this list may be incomplete):

Maytenus sp. nov. A is an as of yet unpublished species in the genus that was given a "vulnerable" status by the IUCN Red List. It is endemic to Yemen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and rocky areas.[1]

[edit] Cultivation and Uses

M. boaria and M. magellanica are the most known species the Europe and the United States because these are the most cold tolerant trees of this mostly tropical genus. Maytenus ebenifola is added to some versions of the hallucinogenic drink Ayahuasca.[2]

[edit] References