Common Name:
Mayten
A genus of some 250 species of shrubs and small trees. Leaves alternate, evergreen, with short petioles. Flowers green-white to red. Fruit a capsule. Members of the genus are distributed throughout Central and South America, Southeast Asia, Micronesia, Australia and Africa. They grow in a very wide variety of climates, from tropical to subpolar.
Maytenus: derived from mantun, the Mapuche Indian name for this species.
Pronunciation:
may-TEN-uss
Family:
Celastraceae