Maytenus boaria (mayten) is an evergreen tree of the family Celastraceae, native from South America, up to 20 m (66 ft), 80 cm (31 in) diameter, straight trunk.

Its leaves are small, alternate, elliptical, fine serrate margins, light green color, about 2.5 and 5 cm long.

Mayten tree is fully naturalized in New Zealand where it is spreading very rapidly in the Canterbury region, it now classed as an invasive species and illegal to sell or distribute in NZ.

A small number of trees have been planted in gardens of California and private collections in Spain,[2] and all of them have acclimatized in those lands.

There it is associated with the endangered Chilean wine palm (Jubaea chilensis) as well as a number of threatened understory plants, including Adiantum gertrudis.