# Wikstroemia oahuensis
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{{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](/source/Asa_Gray)) [Rock](/source/Joseph_Rock) 1913
|synonyms =
*''Daphne oahuensis'' ([A.Gray](/source/Asa_Gray)) [Halda](/source/Joseph_Halda)
*''Diplomorpha oahuensis'' ([A.Gray](/source/Asa_Gray)) [A. Heller](/source/Amos_Arthur_Heller)
*''Wikstroemia foetida'' var. ''oahuensis'' [A.Gray](/source/Asa_Gray)
|subdivision_ranks = Varieties
|subdivision =
*''Wikstroemia oahuensis'' var. ''oahuensis''
*''Wikstroemia oahuensis'' var. ''palustris'' ([Hochr.](/source/B%C3%A9n%C3%A9dict_Pierre_Georges_Hochreutiner)) [B.Peterson](/source/Bo-Hagard_Peterson) 1989
}}
'''''Wikstroemia oahuensis''''', the '''{{okina}}Ākia''' or '''O{{okina}}ahu false ohelo''', is a species of [flowering](/source/Flowering_plant) [shrub](/source/shrub) in the [mezereon](/source/Daphne_mezereum) family, [Thymelaeaceae](/source/Thymelaeaceae), that is [endemic](/source/Endemism) to [Hawai{{okina}}i](/source/Hawaii).[{{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](/source/United_States_Forest_Service) |year=1989}}]
==Description==
In the wild, {{okina}}ākia can grow to {{convert|5|ft|m}} tall, but in [cultivation](/source/Horticulture) 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 [flower](/source/flower)s irregularly throughout the year, but produces fewer flowers when the plant has mature [fruit](/source/fruit). The tubular yellow to yellow-green flowers may be perfect ([bisexual](/source/Monoicous)) or unisexual (either male or female), and less than {{convert|0.5|in|cm}} long.[{{cite web |url=http://www.ntbg.org/plants/plant_details.php |title=Wikstroemia oahuensis |work=Meet the Plants |publisher=[National Tropical Botanical Garden](/source/National_Tropical_Botanical_Garden) |accessdate=2009-02-28}}] The dwarf bog form from [Kaua{{okina}}i](/source/Kauai) is sometimes recognized as a separate species, ''[W. palustris](/source/Wikstroemia_palustris)''.
==Distribution==
There are 12 ''[Wikstroemia](/source/Wikstroemia)'' species endemic to the [Hawaiian Islands](/source/Hawaiian_Islands). ''Wikstroemia oahuensis'' is a relatively common plant in a wide variety of habitats on the islands of [Kaua{{okina}}i](/source/Kauai), [O{{okina}}ahu](/source/Oahu), [Moloka{{okina}}i](/source/Molokai), [Lāna{{okina}}i](/source/Lanai), and [Maui](/source/Maui). It inhabits ridges and rocky areas, hala (''[Pandanus tectorius](/source/Pandanus_tectorius)'') [forest](/source/Hawaiian_tropical_rainforests), [mesic forest](/source/Hawaiian_tropical_rainforests), [wet forest](/source/Hawaiian_tropical_rainforests), and [bogs](/source/Hawaiian_tropical_rainforests) at elevations of {{convert|100|–|1400|m|ft}}.[{{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](/source/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 }}]
==Ecology==
The [bacteria](/source/bacteria) species ''[Flavobacterium akiainvivens](/source/Flavobacterium_akiainvivens)'' was originally isolated from rotting {{okina}}ākia wood, and the shrub lends it its name.[{{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}}]
==Uses==
===Toxicity===
[Native Hawaiians](/source/Native_Hawaiians) used this species to stupefy [fish](/source/fish).