Maytenus laevigata (Vahl) Griseb.
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Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.
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Family
Celastraceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Small tree 3-9 m tall; bark gray and smooth. Leaf blades 3- 11 x 1.5-7.5 cm, leathery, ovate, elliptic, or obovate, glabrous, the apex obtuse or rounded, usually notched, the base obtuse. rounded, or truncate, less often cuneate, the margins strongly revolute, entire and whitish; petioles 3-6 mm long. Flowers with short pedicels (2 mm ), solitary or fascicled. Calyx cup-shaped, with rounded, 0.4 mm long, greenish sepals, with ciliate margins; petals ovate, ca. 2 mm long, whitish or cream; stamens 1 mm long; ovary ellipsoid, the stigmas short. Fruit ellipsoid to globose, 1-1.2 cm long, yellowish green, opening along 2 sides to expose a large, ellipsoid seed covered with a white aril.
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Discussion
Senacia elliptica Lam., Tabl. Encycl. 2: 96. 1797. Maytenus elliptica (Lam.) Krug & Urb. ex Duss, Fl. Phan. Antill. Fran?. 145. 1897.
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Distribution
Common in moist forests and in dry evergreen woodlands. Lameshur (A2716), along trail to Sieben (A2069). Also on Jost van Dyke, St. Croix, and St. Thomas; throughout the Greater and Lesser Antilles.
West Indies| Saint Thomas Virgin Islands of the United States South America| Saint Croix Virgin Islands of the United States South America| West Indies|