Olax scandens
Climbing olax
- Also called Climbing olax, Sprawling olax
- Tamil Kadalirinji (கடலிறஞ்சி)
- Telugu Turakavepa (తురకవేప), Muriki malle (మురికి మల్లె), Bapanamushti (బాపనముష్టి)
- Hindi Dheniani (ढेनिआनी)
- Bengali Koko-aru (ককো আরু)
Scrambling or climbing shrub, up to 5 m
What it is
Climbing olax is a rambling shrub that leans on other plants for support. Young shoots are covered in soft rusty hairs, and older stems carry blunt thorns. The oval leaves are plain and smooth-edged. Small white, sweet-scented flowers grow in short clusters, followed by round yellow fruits that sit in an enlarged cup. It grows wild in forest edges and scrub across India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
What it's used for
- In parts of India the young leaves are cooked as a leafy vegetable.
- The ripe fruit is edible.
- The bark is used in Ayurveda, and the plant appears in many local folk remedies.
Where we plant it
Reforestation in Tamil Nadu, India
Sadhana Forest, Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India
Plant trees in this projectOur partners plant the mix of native species that suits each site and season, so a gift plants trees in the project rather than this one species. Olax scandens is one of the species planted there.
More trees planted in Reforestation in Tamil Nadu, India
Bakul, Magizham or Spanish cherryMimusops elengi
Kaya or Ironwood treeMemecylon umbellatum
Notched-leaf spike thornMaytenus emarginata
Palai, Palu or KhirniManilkara hexandra
Pointed-leaf jasmineJasminum cuspidatum
Indian screw tree or ValampuriHelicteres isora
Grewia, a dry-country shrubGrewia rhamnifolia
Grewia, a dry-forest shrubGrewia bracteata
See all 37 species in Reforestation in Tamil Nadu, India
