About Alyxia stellata (J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.) Roem. & Schult.
Alyxia stellata, commonly called maile in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, native to the tropical Pacific, ranging from Queensland to Hawaii. It grows as a twining liana, a scandent shrub, or a small erect shrub, and it is one of the few vines endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Its leaves are typically arranged in whorls of three (ternate), sometimes arranged oppositely, and a single stem can have both leaf arrangements. Its flowers are quite inconspicuous, and have a light, sweet honey fragrance. The plant's bark is the most fragrant part; when punctured, it exudes a slightly sticky, milky sap, which is a characteristic trait of the Apocynaceae family. The entire plant contains coumarin, a sweet-smelling compound also found in vanilla grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum), woodruff (Galium odoratum) and mullein (Verbascum spp.). When ripe, its fruit are oval and dark purple. Maile is a morphologically variable species, and this variation is reflected in Hawaiian names for the plant, which are discussed further in the Ethnobotany section. Its full distribution extends from northeastern Queensland across the tropical Pacific, including the Caroline Islands, Cook Islands, Fiji, Hawaiian Islands, Marianas, Marquesas, New Caledonia, Niue, Pitcairn Islands, Samoan Islands, Society Islands, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuamotu, Tubuai Islands, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna. On all main Hawaiian Islands, maile can grow in most types of vegetation at elevations between 50 metres and 2,000 metres (200 feet to 6,600 feet). It is thought that populations of maile existed on both Kahoʻolawe and Niʻihau before large-scale habitat disturbances took place. In the Hawaiian Islands, lowland wet forests at 100–1,200 m (300–3,900 ft) elevation, which receive 150–500 cm (60–200 in) of rainfall annually, are prime habitat for maile. Maile also grows in montane mesic and wet plant communities.
