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Aextoxicon
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Berberidopsidales
Family:	Aextoxicaceae Engl. & Gilg
Genus:	Aextoxicon Ruiz & Pav.
Species:	A. punctatum
Binomial name
Aextoxicon punctatum Ruiz & Pav.

Aextoxicon is a genus of dioecious trees native to southern Chile and Argentina. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Aextoxicaceae, and is itself represented by the olivillo (Aextoxicon punctatum). It is a large evergreen tree native to the forests of the Valdivian temperate rain forests and Magellanic subpolar forests of the Pacific coast of southern Chile, where it forms is a canopy tree in the broadleaf forests. It can reach 15 m tall.

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. The genus was formerly often included in the family Euphorbiaceae.

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.

• Male flower
• Female flower
• Leaves

Distribution and habitat

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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.

Uses

The tree is used for its high-quality timber.

References

1. Barstow, M.; Beech, E.; Rivers, M.C. (2018). "Aextoxicon punctatum". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T34616A124554755. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T34616A124554755.en. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
2. 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, hdl:10654/18083
3. Ronse De Craene, Louis P.; Stuppy, Wolfgang (2010). "Floral Development and Anatomy of Aextoxicon punctatum (Aextoxicaceae-Berberidopsidales): An Enigmatic Tree at the Base of Core Eudicots". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 171 (3): 244–257. doi:10.1086/650161. S2CID 84188383.
4. Reveal, James L. (2011). "Summary of recent systems of angiosperm classification". Kew Bulletin. 66 (1). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: 5–48. Bibcode:2011KewBu..66....5R. doi:10.1007/s12225-011-9259-y. S2CID 44982192.
5. ^ 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.

External links

• Aextoxicon punctatum in Encyclopedia of the Chilean Flora
• Aextoxicon punctatum in Chilebosque
• Aextoxicon punctatum in Chileflora
• Aextoxicaceae in L. Watson and M.J. Dallwitz (1992 onwards). The families of flowering plants
• Hansen & Rahn: Aextoxicaceae
• NCBI Taxonomy Browser: Aextoxicaceae
• CSDL: Aextoxicaceae Archived 2008-10-13 at the Wayback Machine

• IUCN Red List least concern species
• Berberidopsidales
• Flora of the Andes
• Flora of central Chile
• Trees of Chile
• Trees of Argentina
• Trees of mild maritime climate
• Trees of subpolar oceanic climate
• Flora of the Valdivian temperate forests
• Monotypic eudicot genera
• Data deficient plants
• Dioecious plants
• Taxa named by José Antonio Pavón Jiménez
• Taxa named by Ernest Friedrich Gilg
• Taxa named by Adolf Engler