About Aextoxicon punctatum Ruiz & Pav.
Aextoxicon punctatum Ruiz & Pav. is a large tree that most often grows as a canopy or emergent tree. Its leaves are arranged oppositely; they are dark green on the upper surface and lighter green on the lower surface, and the whole plant is covered in rusty-colored peltate scales. Its flowers are actinomorphic and unisexual, arranged in hanging racemes. Each flower has 5 sepals and 5 petals. Male flowers have 5 stamens positioned opposite the sepals, while female flowers have two fused carpels that form a bilocular ovary. The fruit is a single-seeded drupe that resembles an olive, which gives the species its common name. This species occurs in Chile, where it typically grows in damp locations from Bosque de Fray Jorge National Park south to the Chiloé Archipelago. It is also found in the Valdivian forests and Magellanic forests along the southern Pacific coast. In Argentina, it grows in the middle reaches of the Rio Negro valley, is invasive on the island of Choele Choel, and is common in Lago Puelo National Park, Chubut. The tree is harvested for its high-quality timber.
