Maytenus /ˈmeɪtɛnəs/[2] is a genus of flowering plants in the family Celastraceae. Members of the genus are distributed throughout Central and South America, Southeast Asia, Micronesia and Australasia, the Indian Ocean and Africa. They grow in a very wide variety of climates, from tropical to subpolar. In 2017, a taxonomic review moved 123 species of Maytenus to a new genus, called Monteverdia.[citation needed]
Maytenus boaria and Maytenus magellanica are the most known species in Europe and the United States because these are the most cold-tolerant trees of this mostly tropical genus. The bark of Maytenus krukovii has a variety of documented medicinal properties; it is also sometimes admixed into decoctions of ayahuasca.