Flora of North America species comparison

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Maytenus boaria

Maytenus phyllanthoides

maiten tree, mayten, mayten tree

Florida mayten, gutta-percha, guttapercha mayten, leather leaf, mangle dulce
Habit Trees to 15 m. Stems erect to spreading; branchlets gray-brown, pendent, glabrous. Shrubs or trees 0.2–7 m. Stems erect to spreading, or decumbent to prostrate; branchlets erect or spreading, puberulent.
Leaves

petiole 2–5 mm;

blade elliptic to lanceolate, 1–6 × 0.4–2 cm, base cuneate, margins regularly serrulate, apex acute.

petiole 1–6 mm;

blade oblong-elliptic to obovate, 1.5–5(–6) × 1–2.5(–3.5) cm, base cuneate or rounded, margins entire or remotely serrulate, sometimes wavy, apex obtuse to rounded, sometimes mucronate.
Flowers

sepals green, rounded;

petals 1.5–3 m. Capsules yellow or straw colored, 5–9 × 5–6.5 mm.

sepals reddish, rounded;

petals 2–3 mm.
Capsules

bright red, 8–12 × 4–6 mm.

Maytenus boaria

Maytenus phyllanthoides
Phenology Flowering spring; fruiting summer.
Habitat Disturbed scrub and oak woodlands.
Elevation 100–400 m. (300–1300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; South America (Argentina, Chile) [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; TX; Mexico; West Indies (Bahamas, Cuba)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Maytenus boaria is naturalized in the San Francisco Bay area, where it spreads after fires.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Recognition of two varieties follows G. L. Nesom (2009e).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf blade bases cuneate; stems erect to spreading.
var. phyllanthoides
1. Leaf blade bases rounded; stems decumbent to prostrate.
var. ovalifolia
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 128. FNA vol. 12, p. 127.
Parent taxa Celastraceae > Maytenus Celastraceae > Maytenus
Sibling taxa
M. phyllanthoides
M. boaria
Subordinate taxa
M. phyllanthoides var. ovalifolia, M. phyllanthoides var. phyllanthoides
Synonyms Tricerma phyllanthoides
Name authority Molina: Sag. Stor. Nat. Chili, 177, 349. (1782) Bentham: Bot. Voy. Sulphur, 54. (1844)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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