Ākia or Oahu False Ohelo (Wikstroemia oahuensis) is a species of flowering

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 in the mezereon

Daphne mezereum

Daphne mezereum is a species of Daphne in the flowering plant family Thymelaeaceae, native to most of Europe and Western Asia, north to northern Scandinavia and Russia. In southern Europe it is confined to medium to higher elevations and in the subalpine vegetation zone, but descends to near sea...

 family, Thymelaeaceae

Thymelaeaceae

Thymelaeaceae is a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants composed of 50 genera and 898 species. It was established in 1789 by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu.Thymelaeaceae is in the order Malvales...

, that is endemic to Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

.

Description

In the wild, ākia can grow to 5 feet (1.5 m) tall, but in cultivation it usually reaches 3 foot (0.9144 m) with a diameter of 10 feet (3 m). The young branches are gray, yellow, or reddish brown. The leaves grow with two leaves opposite each other on the branch, overlapping, and are dark green or grayish on the upper surface and lighter green underneath. They are oval to round and usually under 1 inches (2.5 cm) long. This species is highly variable, with the leaves ranging from large and long to small and round. The stems do not snap but peel when bent. It flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s irregularly throughout the year, but produces fewer flowers when the plant has mature fruit

Fruit

In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...

. The tubular yellow to yellow-green flowers may be perfect (bisexual

Plant sexuality

Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....

) or unisexual (either male or female), and less than 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) long. The dwarf bog form from Kauai

Kauai

Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...

 is sometimes recognized as a separate species, W. palustris.

Distribution

There are 12 Wikstroemia

Wikstroemia

Wikstroemia is a genus of 55-70 species of flowering shrubs and small trees in the mezereon family, Thymelaeaceae.-Medicinal uses:Wikstroemia indica is one of the 50 fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine.-Species:...

species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...

. Wikstroemia oahuensis is a relatively common plant in a wide variety of habitats on the islands of Kauai

Kauai

Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...

, Oahu

Oahu

Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...

, Molokai

Molokai

Molokai or Molokai is an island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is 38 by 10 miles in size with a land area of , making it the fifth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands and the 27th largest island in the United States. It lies east of Oahu across the 25-mile wide Kaiwi Channel and north of...

, Lānai

Lanai

Lānai or Lanai is the sixth-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is also known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The only town is Lānai City, a small settlement....

, and Maui

Maui

The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...

. It inhabits ridges and rocky areas, hala (Pandanus tectorius

Pandanus tectorius

Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus that is native to Malesia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Common names include Thatch Screwpine, Hala , Bacua , and Vacquois ....

) forest, mesic forest, wet forest, and bogs at elevations of 100 –.

Toxicity

Native Hawaiians used this species to stupefy fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

. A poison made from ākia in combination with other plants was used to execute criminals.

Medicinal

Hawaiian medicinal uses are as a laxative

Laxative

Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool, most often taken to treat constipation. Certain stimulant, lubricant, and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and/or bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under...

 and for treatment of asthma

Asthma

Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...

. Possible anti-tumor activity.

Other

Ākia is used in Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

 as landscape specimen. Seeds and flowers are used to make beautiful lei

Lei (Hawaii)

Lei is a Hawaiian word for a garland or wreath. More loosely defined, a lei is any series of objects strung together with the intent to be worn. The most popular concept of a lei in Hawaiian culture is a wreath of flowers draped around the neck presented upon arriving or leaving as a symbol of...

.