{{Short description|Species of shrub}} {{Speciesbox |image = Starr_041229-2701_Wikstroemia_oahuensis.jpg |image_caption = {{okina}}Ākia; O{{okina}}ahu false ohelo |image_alt = ʻĀkia; Oʻahu false ohelo |genus = Wikstroemia |species = oahuensis |authority = (A.Gray) Rock 1913 |synonyms = *''Daphne oahuensis'' <small>(A.Gray) Halda</small> *''Diplomorpha oahuensis'' <small>(A.Gray) A. Heller</small> *''Wikstroemia foetida'' var. ''oahuensis'' <small>A.Gray</small> |subdivision_ranks = Varieties |subdivision = *''Wikstroemia oahuensis'' var. ''oahuensis'' *''Wikstroemia oahuensis'' var. ''palustris'' <small>(Hochr.) B.Peterson 1989</small> }}
'''''Wikstroemia oahuensis''''', the '''{{okina}}Ākia''' or '''O{{okina}}ahu false ohelo''', is a species of flowering shrub in the mezereon family, Thymelaeaceae, that is endemic to Hawai{{okina}}i.<ref name="CFTH">{{cite web |url=http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/forestry/data/CommonTreesHI/CFT_Wikstroemia_oahuensis.pdf |title=ʻAkia |first=Elbert L. |last=Little Jr. |author2=Roger G. Skolmen |publisher=United States Forest Service |year=1989}}</ref>
==Description== In the wild, {{okina}}ākia can grow to {{convert|5|ft|m}} tall, but in cultivation it usually reaches {{convert|3|ft|m}} with a diameter of {{convert|10|ft|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 {{convert|1|in|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 flowers irregularly throughout the year, but produces fewer flowers when the plant has mature fruit. The tubular yellow to yellow-green flowers may be perfect (bisexual) or unisexual (either male or female), and less than {{convert|0.5|in|cm}} long.<ref name="NTBG">{{cite web |url=http://www.ntbg.org/plants/plant_details.php |title=Wikstroemia oahuensis |work=Meet the Plants |publisher=National Tropical Botanical Garden |accessdate=2009-02-28}}</ref> The dwarf bog form from Kaua{{okina}}i is sometimes recognized as a separate species, ''W. palustris''.
==Distribution== There are 12 ''Wikstroemia'' species endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. ''Wikstroemia oahuensis'' is a relatively common plant in a wide variety of habitats on the islands of Kaua{{okina}}i, O{{okina}}ahu, Moloka{{okina}}i, Lāna{{okina}}i, and Maui. It inhabits ridges and rocky areas, hala (''Pandanus tectorius'') forest, mesic forest, wet forest, and bogs at elevations of {{convert|100|–|1400|m|ft}}.<ref name="Bishop">{{cite web |url=http://www2.bishopmuseum.org/ethnobotanydb/resultsdetailed.asp?search=akia |title=ʻakia, kauhi, ʻakia manolo |work=Hawaiian Ethnobotany Online Database |publisher=Bernice P. Bishop Museum |access-date=2009-02-28 |archive-date=2016-03-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310202050/http://bishopmuseum.org/ethnobotanydb/resultsdetailed.asp?search=akia |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Ecology== The bacteria species ''Flavobacterium akiainvivens'' was originally isolated from rotting {{okina}}ākia wood, and the shrub lends it its name.<ref name="Kuo">{{cite journal|last1=Kuo|first1=Iris|last2=Saw|first2=Jimmy|last3=Kapan|first3=Durrell D.|last4=Christensen|first4=Stephanie|last5=Kaneshiro|first5=Kenneth Y.|last6=Donachie|first6=Stuart P.|title=''Flavobacterium akiainvivens'' sp. nov., from decaying wood of ''Wikstroemia oahuensis'', Hawai'i, and emended description of the genus ''Flavobacterium''|journal=International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology|date=1 September 2013|volume=63|issue=9|pages=3280–3286|doi=10.1099/ijs.0.047217-0|pmid=23475344|language=English|issn=1466-5034|oclc=5157565552}}</ref>
==Uses==
===Toxicity=== Native Hawaiians used this species to stupefy fish.<ref name="CFTH" /> A poison made from {{okina}}ākia, in combination with other plants, was used to execute criminals.<ref name="Bishop" />
===Medicinal=== Hawaiian medicinal uses are as a laxative and for treatment of asthma. Possible anti-tumor activity.<ref name="NTBG" />
===Other=== {{okina}}Ākia is used in Hawai{{okina}}i as landscape specimen. Seeds and flowers are used to make beautiful lei.<ref name="NTBG" />
==References== {{Commons category}} {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7999901}}
oahuensis Category:Endemic flora of Hawaii Category:Plants described in 1913 Category:Flora without expected TNC conservation status