Aextoxicon

Aextoxicon punctatum, the sole species of genus Aextoxicon and family Aextoxicaceae, is a tree native to southern Chile and Argentina. Commonly known as the olivillo or aceitunillo, it is a large evergreen tree native to the forests of the Valdivian temperate rain forests and Magellanic subpolar forests of southern Chile's Pacific coast, where it forms is a canopy tree in the broadleaf forests. It can reach 15 m tall.

"Aceitunillo" redirects here. For the plant from Cuba, see Beilschmiedia pendula.

Aextoxicon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Berberidopsidales
Family: Aextoxicaceae
Engl. & Gilg.[1]
Genus: Aextoxicon
Ruiz & Pav.
Species:
A. punctatum
Binomial name
Aextoxicon punctatum
Ruiz & Pav.

The APG system (1998) and the APG II system (2003) left the family Aextoxicaceae unplaced in the core eudicots. It has since been included in the order Berberidopsidales.[2] The genus was formerly often included in the family Euphorbiaceae.

Distribution and habitat

Aextoxicon punctatum is found in Chile, usually in damp places from the Bosque de Fray Jorge National Park southwards to the Chiloé Archipelago, also in the Valdivian forest and Magellanic forests of the southern Pacific coast. In Argentina it is present in the middle reaches of the Rio Negro valley, being invasive on the island of Choele Choel, and it is common in the Lago Puelo National Park, Chubut.

Description

Aextoxicon punctatum is a large tree often found in the canopy or emergent. It has opposite leaves with dark green coloration on the top and lighter green below, and is covered in rusty peltate scales. The flowers are actinomorphic and unisexual, in hanging racemes. The flowers have 5 sepals and 5 petals. Male flowers have 5 stamens opposite the sepals while female flowers have two carpels that fuse to form a bilocular ovary. The fruit is a single seeded drupe that resembles an olive, thus giving the plant its common name.[3]

Uses

The tree is used for its high quality timber.[4]

References
  1. Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009), "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III", Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161 (2): 105–121, doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x
  2. Reveal, James L. (2011). "Summary of recent systems of angiosperm classification". Kew Bulletin. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 66: 5–48. doi:10.1007/s12225-011-9259-y. S2CID 44982192.
  3. Heywood, V.; Brummitt, R.; Culham, A.; Seberg, O. (2007). Flowering plant families of the world (1st ed.). Buffalo NY: Firefly Books. p. 27. ISBN 9781554072064.
  4. Heywood, V.; Brummitt, R.; Culham, A.; Seberg, O. (2007). Flowering plant families of the world (1st ed.). Buffalo NY: Firefly Books. p. 27. ISBN 9781554072064.
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