Maile

Description

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 binomial nomenclature means "chain resembling olive" in Latin. The leaves are usually ternate, sometimes opposite, and can show both types on the same stem. 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.). Fruit are oval and dark purple when ripe. Maile is a morphologically variable plant and the Hawaiian names reflect this (see Ethnobotany section). Maile can occur in most types of vegetation from 50 to 2000 m on all of the main Hawaiian Islands, however it is believed that both Kahoʻolawe and Niʻihau likely had populations of maile before large-scale disturbances occurred. Lowland wet forests occur from 100 to 1200 m elevation on the main Hawaiian islands and are prime habitat with around 1500–5000 mm of rainfall usually. Montane mesic and wet communities are also where maile occurs. Maile is traditionally and still most popularly used in lei. The vines are prepared and twined together to make an open lei or if people prefer they can close it. In more rural areas it is typical for someone to pick their own maile if accessible, however because lei maile is so desirable, many floral shops carry these kinds of lei. It is one of the only endemic Hawaiian plants grown commercially for lei. Commercial maile plantations have become more common as some people feel that imported (non-Hawaiian) maile is not as fragrant as Hawaiian maile. Lei maile are often worn by the groom, and also by the groom's men in weddings which is a lovely sight. For high school proms in Hawaiʻi, the boy is often given a lei maile. Birthdays, graduations, anniversaries and any celebration for that matter are all an occasion for lei maile, however many responsible stewards to the land understand there is not enough maile to go around for everyone. This ties back in to local maile plantations that have started up.