| Alyxia stellata | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Apocynaceae |
| Genus: | Alyxia |
| Species: | A. stellata
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| Binomial name | |
| Alyxia stellata | |
| Synonyms | |
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Alyxia stellata, known as maile in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, that is native to Hawaii. It grows as either a twining liana, scandent shrub, or small erect shrub, and is one of the few vines that are endemic to the islands. The leaves are usually ternate, sometimes opposite, and can show both types on the same stem.[2] Flowers are quite inconspicuous and have a sweet and light fragrance of honey. The bark is most fragrant and exudes a slightly sticky, milky sap when punctured, characteristic of the family Apocynaceae. The entire plant contains coumarin, a sweet-smelling compound that is also present in vanilla grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum), woodruff (Galium odoratum) and mullein (Verbascum spp.).[3] Fruit are oval and dark purple when ripe. Maile is a morphologically variable plant and the Hawaiian names reflect this (see Ethnobotany section).
- ^ "NatureServe Explorer - Alyxia stellata". NatureServe Explorer Alyxia stellata. NatureServe. 2022-06-22. Retrieved 22 Jun 2022.
- ^ Wagner et al. 1990. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaiʻi 1, University of Hawaiʻi Press, Honolulu, p. 214
- ^ "Maile". Native Hawaiian Plants. Kapiʻolani Community College. Archived from the original on 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2009-03-14.