Description: Shrubs or trees, ± glabrous.
Leaves alternate, often clustered, margins entire or toothed, usually stiff and ± leathery with veins distinct on both surfaces; stipules minute.
Flowers bisexual, small, usually in few-flowered cymes or racemes. Sepals 5, imbricate. Petals 5, imbricate, spreading, about twice as long as sepals, creamish. Stamens 5, inserted on margin of disc. Ovary partly immersed in disc, perfectly or imperfectly 2–5-locular, ovules 2–10 per loculus; stigmas 3–5 or single and ± lobed.
Fruit a capsule, 3–5-locular and opening by as many valves; seeds 1–several, aril fleshy, irregularly lobed, red.
Distribution and occurrence: World: c. 15 species, endemic Australia: Qld, N.S.W., N.T., W.A.
Text by T. A. James (edited B.J. Conn 2014)
Taxon concept: McKenna et al. 2011. Delimitation of the segregate genera of Maytenus s. l. (Celastraceae) based on morphological and molecular characters. Systematic Botany 36(4): 922-932.
| | Key to the species | |
| 1 | Fruit usually 2-locular, opening with 2 valves, mostly 2–6 seeded; seeds black | 2 |
| Fruit 3–5-locular, opening by many valves, seeds 1-many; seeds red | 5 |
| 2 | Leaves linear to narrow-elliptic or oblanceolate, 2–15 mm wide; petioles 1–2 mm long | 3 |
| Leaves ovate, obovate or elliptic, 10–40 mm wide; petioles 2–12 mm long
Back to 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Leaves 2–15 mm wide, discolorous, lower surface grey–green, upper surface usually darker, margins recurved and toothed or entire | Denhamia silvestris |
| Leaves 2–8 mm wide, more or less concolorous, bright green, margins flat and entire
Back to 2 | Denhamia cunninghamii |
| 4 | Leaves with margins usually toothed; petioles 2–5 mm long; seeds surrounded by an orange aril | Denhamia bilocularis |
| Leaves with margins entire or occasionally slightly toothed; petioles 3–12 mm long; seeds with a yellow aril at base
Back to 2 | Denhamia disperma |
| 5 | Adult leaves entire (rarely slightly crenate); flowering pedicels 2–3 mm long | Denhamia moorei |
| Adult leaves toothed, sometimes obscurely so; flowering pedicels c. 1 mm long
Back to 1 | 6 |
| 6 | Inflorescences 2–13 cm long; flowers with styles mostly 2–2.5 mm long; capsule ovoid, 10–17 mm diam., usually 3- or 4-valved | Denhamia celastroides |
| Inflorescences up to 4 cm long; flowers with styles mostly 1–2 mm long; capsule depressed-globose or obovoid, 20–24 mm diam., 3–5-valved
Back to 5 | Denhamia pittosporoides |
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