Aextoxicon

Aextoxicon
Conservation status
Data Deficient (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Core eudicots
Order:	Berberidopsidales
Family:	Aextoxicaceae Engl. & Gilg.
Genus:	Aextoxicon Ruiz & Pav.
Species:	A. punctatum
Binomial name
Aextoxicon punctatum Ruiz & Pav.

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

The APG system (1998) and the APG II system (2003) left the family Aextoxicaceae unplaced in the core eudicots. 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.

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