Maile

Alyxia stellata, known as maile in Hawaiian, is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, native to the tropical Pacific from Queensland, Australia, to Hawaii. It grows as a twining liana, a scandent shrub or a small erect shrub, and is one of the few vines endemic to the Hawaiian islands. The leaves are usually ternate, sometimes opposite. The flowers are inconspicuous, with a sweet, light fragrance of honey. The bark is the most fragrant part and exudes a slightly sticky, milky sap when punctured. The whole plant contains coumarin, a sweet-smelling compound also present in vanilla grass and woodruff. Lei maile are often worn by the groom and his men at weddings, and a boy is often given a lei maile for a high school prom. Birthdays, graduations and anniversaries are also occasions for lei maile, although the page notes there is not enough maile for everyone, and local maile plantations have started. Maile appears in Hawaiian stories, proverbs and songs.