Maytenus is a genus of plant in family Celastraceae. The genus is distributed through the Americas: north to Mexico and south to Tierra del Fuego; South Asia (Yemen, Malaysia and Thailand); and Africa: northwest to Canary Islands, northeast to Ethiopia, and south to South Africa. It grows in a very wide variety of climates; from tropical to subpolar. M. boaria and M. magellanica are the most known species in the Europe and the United States because these are the most cold tolerant trees of this mostly tropical genus. It contains the following species (but this list may be incomplete):

• Maytenus abbottii, A.E.van Wyk
• Maytenus addat, (Loes.) Sebsebe
• Maytenus boaria, Molina
• Maytenus canariensis, (Loes.) Kunk. & Sund.
• Maytenus clarendonensis, Britton
• Maytenus crassipes, Urb.
• Maytenus curtissii, (King) Ding Hou
• Maytenus cymosa, Krug & Urban
• Maytenus dhofarensis, Sebsebe
• Maytenus eggersii, Loes.
• Maytenus harenensis, Sebsebe
• Maytenus harrisii, Krug & Urb.
• Maytenus ilicifolia Congorosa
• Maytenus jamesonii, Briq.
• Maytenus jefeana, Lund.
• Maytenus laevigata Cinamomo
• Maytenus laevis
• Maytenus magellanica, (Lam.) Hook. f.
• Maytenus manabiensis, Loes.
• Maytenus matudai, Lundell
• Maytenus microcarpa, F. & R.
• Maytenus oleosa, A.E.van Wyk & R.H.Archer
• Maytenus ponceana, Britt.
• Maytenus phyllanthoides
• Maytenus stipitata, Lundell
• Maytenus vitis-idaea Indian's Salt
• Maytenus williamsii, A. Molina

Maytenus sp. nov. A is an as of yet unpublished species in the genus that was given a "vulnerable" status by the IUCN Red List. It is endemic to Yemen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and rocky areas.^[1]

Maytenus ebenifola is added to some versions of the hallucinogenic drink Ayahuasca.^[2]