''Alyxia'' is an

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologic ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

in the

dogbane Dogbane, dog-bane, dog's bane, and other variations, some of them regional and some transient, are names for certain plants that are reputed to kill or repel dogs; "bane" originally meant "slayer", and was later applied to plants to indicate tha ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (from '' Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, because some taxa were used as dog poison Members ...

. It contains at present 106

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

, but ''

Alyxia stellata ''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 f ...

'' and '' A. tisserantii'' are very variable, might be

cryptic species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each ot ...

es, and are need of further study. It consists of shrubby, climbing or scrambling plants. This genus occurs in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

and the

Pacific Island Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

s. There are 14 species in Australia, 21 in New Caledonia and 7 in the other Pacific Islands, including

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

.Middleton (2000, 2001) The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

are opposite or in whorls of three to seven. There are colleters (groups or tufts of mucilaginous secretory hairs) present in the leaf axils. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are forme ...

is axillary or terminal with solitary flowers or simple cymes. Flowers consist of five petals and five sepals. The flowers have a slender tube which expands abruptly. The stamens have short filaments and are inserted in the upper half of the corolla. The fruit is a pair of

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part ( exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel ...

s, originating from each flower. Dysentery bush ('' A. buxifolia'') is used in

herbalism Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern reme ...

and was made into a patented remedy by

Albert Aspinall Albert Wood Aspinall (27 December 1839 – 15 December 1903) was an Australian stonemason and builder. He was an expert in constructing round towers and buildings. Early life Aspinall was born in Exley Bank Bottom, Southowram, West Riding of ...

. ''

Maile ''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 ...

'' (''A. oliviformis''),

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the Hawaiian Islands, has sweet-smelling leaves and is much used for lei; formerly it was reserved for '' alii'' (

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

), but today it can be used by anyone and is a popular

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

decoration on the islands. ''Maile'' also provides food for ''

Thyrocopa ''Thyrocopa'' is a genus of moths in the family Xyloryctidae endemic to Hawaii. The taxon has approximately forty species, including some flightless species.

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sy ...

s and belid

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...

s of the genus '' Proterhinus''. Alyxia spp. are also used in

Jamu Jamu ( Van Ophuijsen Spelling: Djamoe; Javanese: ) is a traditional medicine from Indonesia. It is predominantly a herbal medicine made from natural materials, such as roots, bark, flowers, seeds, leaves and fruits. Materials acquired from ...

Species

The following is a list of ''Alyxia'' species accepted by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

as at September 2021: * '' Alyxia acuminata''

K.Schum. Karl Moritz Schumann (17 June 1851 – 22 March 1904) was a German botanist. Schumann was born in Görlitz. He was curator of the Botanisches Museum in Berlin-Dahlem from 1880 until 1894. He also served as the first chairman of the ''Deutsc ...

(New Guinea) * '' Alyxia angustifolia''

Ridl. Henry Nicholas Ridley CMG (1911), MA (Oxon), FRS, FLS, F.R.H.S. (10 December 1855 – 24 October 1956) was an English botanist, geologist and naturalist who lived much of his life in Singapore. He was instrumental in promoting rubber trees i ...

(Malaysia, Philippines) * '' Alyxia angustissima''

Merr. Elmer Drew Merrill (October 15, 1876 – February 25, 1956) was an American botanist and taxonomist. He spent more than twenty years in the Philippines where he became a recognized authority on the flora of the Asia-Pacific region. Through t ...

& Quisumb. (Philippines) * '' Alyxia annamensis''

Pit. Charles-Joseph Marie Pitard, name sometimes given as Charles-Joseph Marie Pitard-Briau (30 October 1873 – 29 December 1927) was a French pharmacist and botanist. In 1899 he obtained his doctorate in natural sciences at the University of Bordeau ...

(Indo-China) * '' Alyxia arfakensis'' Kaneh. & Hatus. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia baillonii''

Guillaumin Guillaumin is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Armand Guillaumin (1842–1927), French impressionist painter and lithographer *André Guillaumin (1885–1974), French botanist *Colette Guillaumin Colette Guillaumin (28 ...

(New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia balansae'' Pit. (China, Vietnam) * '' Alyxia bracteolosa'' Rich. ex A.Gray (south-west Pacific Ocean) * ''

Alyxia buxifolia ''Alyxia buxifolia'', otherwise known as the sea box or dysentery bush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Apocynaceae. ''Alyxia buxifolia'' has medium to dark green foliage consisting of small, fleshy leaves. The flowers are small a ...

'' R.Br. – dysentery bush, sea box (South Australia) * '' Alyxia cacuminum'' Markgr. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia caletioides'' (

Baill. Henri Ernest Baillon was a French botanist and physician. He was born in Calais on 30 November 1827 and died in Paris on 19 July 1895. Baillon spent his professional life as a professor of natural history, and he published numerous works on b ...

) Guillaumin (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia celebica'' D.J.Middleton (Sulawesi) * '' Alyxia clusiophylla'' (Baill.) Guillaumin (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia composita''

Warb. Otto Warburg (20 July 1859 – 10 January 1938) was a German-Jewish botanist. He was also a notable industrial agriculture expert, and president of the Zionist Organization from 1911 to 1921. Biography Otto Warburg was born in Hamburg on 20 J ...

(New Guinea) * '' Alyxia concatenata'' ( Blanco) Merr. (Philippines) * '' Alyxia cylindrocarpa'' Guillaumin (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia defoliata'' Markgr. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia efatensis'' Guillaumin (Vanuatu) * '' Alyxia erythrosperma'' Gillespie (Fiji) * '' Alyxia evansii'' D.J.Middleton (Northern Territory) * '' Alyxia fascicularis'' ( Wall. ex G.Don)

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

Hook.f. Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For twenty years he served as director of t ...

(India, Thailand) * '' Alyxia floribunda'' Markgr. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia funingensis'' Tsiang & P.T.Li (China, Myanmar) * '' Alyxia ganophylla'' Markgr. (Malaysia, Borneo) * '' Alyxia glaucophylla'' Van Heurck & Müll.Arg. (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia globosa'' D.J.Middleton (Sulawesi) * '' Alyxia graciliflora'' D.J.Middleton (Papua New Guinea) * '' Alyxia gracilis'' (Wall. ex A.DC.) Benth. ex Hook.f. (India, Bangladesh) * '' Alyxia grandis'' P.I.Forst. (Queensland) * '' Alyxia gynopogon'' Roem. & Schuit. (

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together wit ...

) * '' Alyxia hainanensis''

& Chun (China, Vietnam) * '' Alyxia halmaheirae''

Miq. Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel (24 October 1811 – 23 January 1871) was a Dutch botanist, whose main focus of study was on the flora of the Dutch East Indies. Early life Miquel was born in Neuenhaus and studied medicine at the University of Groni ...

(Sulawesi to Maluku) * '' Alyxia hurlimannii'' Guillaumin (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia ilicifolia''

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victo ...

(Queensland) * '' Alyxia kaalaensis'' Boiteau (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia kabaenae'' Markgr. (Sulawesi) * '' Alyxia kendarica'' Markgr. (Sulawesi) * '' Alyxia kwalotabaa'' D.J.Middleton (

Bismarck Archipelago The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km. History The first inhabitants o ...

) * '' Alyxia lackii'' D.J.Middleton (Sulawesi) * '' Alyxia lamii'' Markgr. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia laurina'' Gaudich. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia leucogyne'' Van Heurck & Müll.Arg. (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia linearis'' Markgr. (Philippines) * '' Alyxia loeseneriana'' Schltr. (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia longiloba'' D.J.Middleton (Papua New Guinea) * '' Alyxia luzonensis'' Merr. (Philippines) * '' Alyxia magnifolia'' F.M.Bailey (Queensland) * '' Alyxia manusiana'' D.J.Middleton (Bismarck Archipelago) * '' Alyxia margaretae'' Boiteau (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia marginata''

(Cambodia, Vietnam) * '' Alyxia markgrafii'' Tsiang (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia menglungensis'' Tsiang & P.T.Li (China) * '' Alyxia microphylla'' Markgr. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia minutiflora'' D.J.Middleton (Sulawesi) * '' Alyxia monticola'' C.B.Rob. (Taiwan, Philippines) * '' Alyxia mucronata'' D.J.Middleton (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia muguma'' D.J.Middleton (Philippines) * '' Alyxia mujongensis'' Markgr. (Borneo) * '' Alyxia multistriata'' Markgr. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia nathoi'' Trân Ðinh Lý * '' Alyxia oblongata''

Domin Karel Domin (4 May 1882, Kutná Hora, Kingdom of Bohemia – 10 June 1953, Prague) was a Czech botanist and politician. After gymnasium school studies in Příbram, he studied botany at the Charles University in Prague, and graduated in 19 ...

(New Guinea, Queensland) * '' Alyxia obovatifolia'' Merr. (Philippines) * '' Alyxia oleifolia''

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

& Gamble (Malesia) * '' Alyxia oppositifolia'' Boiteau (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia orophila'' Domin (Queensland) * '' Alyxia oubatchensis'' (

Schltr. Friedrich Richard Rudolf Schlechter (16 October 1872 – 16 November 1925) was a German taxonomist, botanist, and author of several works on orchids. He went on botanical expeditions in Africa, Indonesia, New Guinea, South and Central America ...

)

Guill. Jean Baptiste Antoine Guillemin (20 January 1796 in Pouilly-sur-Saône – 15 January 1842 in Montpellier) was a French botanist. He studied at the municipal college in Seurre, where he was considered one of the most distinguished pupils. U ...

ex Boiteau (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia palawanensis'' Markgr. (Borneo, Philippines, Sulawesi) * '' Alyxia papuana'' D.J.Middleton (Papua New Guinea) * '' Alyxia parvifolia'' (Merr.) Merr. (Philippines) * '' Alyxia pilosa'' Miq. (Malaysia) * '' Alyxia podocarpa'' Van Heurck & Müll.Arg. (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia poyaensis'' (Boiteau) D.J.Middleton (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia pseudosinensis'' Pit. (Indo-China) * '' Alyxia pugio'' Markgr. (Papua New Guinea) * '' Alyxia pullei'' Markgr. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia punctata'' Kaneh. & Hatus. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia purpureoclada'' Kaneh. & Hatus. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia racemosa'' Pit. (Vietnam) * '' Alyxia reinwardtii'' Blume (China, Philippines, Bali) * '' Alyxia ridleyana'' Wernham (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia rostrata'' Markgr. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia royeniana'' Wernham (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia rubricaulis''

Guimaumin (New Caledonia) * ''

Alyxia ruscifolia ''Alyxia ruscifolia'', commonly known as the chainfruit or prickly alyxia, is a shrub of high rainfall areas in eastern Australia. The natural range of distribution is from Wollongong in New South Wales to the Wet Tropics and further north to N ...

'' R.Br. (Australia) – chain fruit * '' Alyxia sarasini'' Guimaumin (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia scabrida'' Markgr. (Papua New Guinea) * '' Alyxia schlechteri'' H.Lév. (China, Thailand) * '' Alyxia semipallescens'' F. Muell. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia siamensis'' Craib (China, Indo-China) * '' Alyxia sinensis'' Champ. ex Benth. (China, Vietnam, Taiwan) * '' Alyxia sleumeri'' Markgr. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia sogerensis'' Wernham ex

S.Moore Spencer Le Marchant Moore (1 November 1850 – 14 March 1931) was an English botanist. Biography Moore was born in Hampstead. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, from about 1870 to 1879, wrote a number of botanical papers, and then work ...

(New Guinea) * '' Alyxia solomonensis'' D.J.Middleton (Solomon Islands) * '' Alyxia spicata'' R.Br. * '' Alyxia squamulosa'' C.Moore & F.Muell. * ''

'' (

J.R.Forst. Johann Reinhold Forster (22 October 1729 – 9 December 1798) was a German Reformed (Calvinist) pastor and naturalist of partially Scottish descent who made contributions to the early ornithology of Europe and North America. He is best known ...

G.Forst. Johann George Adam Forster, also known as Georg Forster (, 27 November 1754 – 10 January 1794), was a German naturalist, ethnologist, travel writer, journalist and revolutionary. At an early age, he accompanied his father, Johann Reinhold F ...

) Roem. &

Schult. Josef (Joseph) August Schultes (15 April 1773 in Vienna – 21 April 1831 in Landshut) was an Austrian botanist and professor from Vienna. Together with Johann Jacob Roemer (1763–1819), he published the 16th edition of Linnaeus' ''Systema ...

* '' Alyxia sulana'' Markgr. (Sulawesi, Maluku) * '' Alyxia tetanifolia''

Cranfield Cranfield is a village and civil parish in the west of Bedfordshire, England, situated between Bedford and Milton Keynes. It had a population of 4,909 in 2001. increasing to 5,369 at the 2011 Census. The parish is in Central Bedfordshire uni ...

(Western Australia) * '' Alyxia tetraquetra'' Markgr. (New Guinea) * '' Alyxia thailandica'' D.J.Middleton (Thailand) * ''

Alyxia tisserantii ''Alyxia'' is an Australasian genus of flowering plant in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae. It contains at present 106 species, but '' Alyxia stellata'' and '' A. tisserantii'' are very variable, might be cryptic species complexes, and are need of ...

'' Montrouz. (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia torquata''

Guimaumin (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia tropica'' (P.I.Forst.) D.J.Middleton (Northern Territory) * '' Alyxia uniflora'' D.J.Middleton (Sulawesi) * '' Alyxia veillonii'' D.J.Middleton (New Caledonia) * '' Alyxia vera'' D.J.Middleton (Maluku)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2577122 Apocynaceae genera