Image: Wikimedia Commons (See link for license)
Olax
Olax imbricata
γ€γγγ―
A shrub distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, native to Okinawa and the Nansei Islands in Japan. It is hemiparasitic, sending haustoria into the roots of other plants. It bears small white to pale yellow flowers.
Identification Points
- βLeaves are coriaceous, glossy, alternate, and evergreen
- βFlowers are small, white to pale yellow, with 3β6 petals
- βForms haustoria on roots for hemiparasitic attachment to other plants
Habitat
Lowland evergreen forests of Okinawa and the Nansei Islands
Season
Year-round (evergreen)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Growth form
Shrub
Evergreen/Deciduous
Evergreen
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire
Petal fusion
Fused
Stipules
Absent
Leaf dissection
Undivided
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Phylogenetic Positionγͺγ©γ―γΉη§ β
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core Eudicots > Santalales > Olacaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (ca. 80 million years ago)
Evolution Notes
Olacaceae belongs to Santalales (sensu lato), a group exhibiting evolutionary tendencies from hemiparasitism toward holoparasitism.
View on evolution timeline βSources & References
AI-generated, needs verification