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Maytenus boaria
Celastraceae FAMILY

Maytenus boaria

Maytenus boaria

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

A plant of warm temperate areas to highland areas in the Tropics, where it can be found at elevations above 2,000 metres. A fairly frost-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to about -10°c[1]. This species has a very wide natural range, so far all the introductions have come from Chile but provenances in Argentina might provide even hardier trees that could succeed in colder areas of the country[2]. Plants succeed outdoors in southern England and have produced self-sown seedlings at Lanarth in Cornwall (hardiness zone 8 - 9)[2]. Large mature trees are growing in woodland conditions at Hilliers Arboretum in Hampshire (hardiness zone 7 - 8)[PFAF]. Requires a moist but well-drained soil[1]. Succeeds in most soils in a sunny position[3] and also in semi-shade[4]. Requires a position sheltered from strong cold winds[4]. A slow-growing tree[1]. Cattle are very strongly attracted to the leaves of this plant and will not touch other forage when this species is available[2]. Plants are usually monoecious, but occasional hermaphrodite flowers are produced[5].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, mid summer in a frame[1]. Division of suckers in the autumn or spring[4]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Maytenus+boaria>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  3. [3]Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. — Thomas. G. S. · Murray · 1992 · ISBN 0-7195-5043-2 ↩︎Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.
  4. [4]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  5. [5]Gardening on Walls — Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. · Collins · 1983 · ISBN 0-00-219220-0 ↩︎A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.
  6. [6]Flore Forestiere Du Globe — Chnacerel L. · Gauthier-Villars et Co.; Paris. · 1920 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Written in French, a very detailed work on the timbers of the world. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  7. [7]Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported Vol. 21 — USDA Government Printing Office; Washington DC. · 1911 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Details of seeds imported for trials by the United States Department of Agriculture in the last quarter of 1909, often detailing the uses of the plant and various other miscellaneous information. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  8. [8]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  9. [9]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  10. [10]Medicinal Plants of Brazil — Mors W.B.; Rizzini C.T.; Pereira N.A. · Reference Publications; Michigan. · 2000 · ISBN 0-917256-42-5 ↩︎An extremely concise book, listing approximately 1,500 species and varieties of plants with their botanical name, common name in Brazil, regions in Brazil where the plant is found, a brief list of uses and any medically active compounds in the plant.
  11. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎