''Olax zeylanica'' is a

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

species in the family

Olacaceae Olacaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Santalales. They are woody plants, native throughout the tropical regions of the world. , the circumscription of the family varies; some sources maintain a broad family, others split it int ...

and the type species of the genus ''

Olax ''Olax'' is a plant genus in the family Olacaceae. The name derives from the Latin, ''olax'' (malodorous), and refers to the unpleasant scent of some of the ''Olax'' species. ''Olax'' is an Old World genus represented by several climbers, som ...

''. It is found in Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, where it is widely used as a leafy vegetable in rural areas. It is known by local people as "මැල්ල - mella" in Sri Lanka.

Ecology

Intermediate forest subcanopy.

Uses

Leaves- vegetable, medicinal. It is widely used as leafy vegetable and also as remedy for snake bites in Sri Lankan Ayurvedic medicine.

References

* http://journals.sjp.ac.lk/index.php/vjs/article/view/279 * http://www.nsf.ac.lk/newsletter/VOL3NO10/ethno.pdf * http://environmentlanka.com/blog/2010/olax-zeylanica-an-environmentally-safe-bio-pesticide-for-the-control-of-the-maize-weevil-sitophilus-zeamais-mots-curculionidae/ * http://www.datamillion.com/mplants/Plants%20used%20for%20treatments%20of%20snake%20bites%20in%20Sri%20Lankan%20Ayurveda%20System.pdf * http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/kew-2399101 {{Taxonbar, from=Q14618471 Olacaceae Flora of Sri Lanka