Olax psittacorum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Olax psittacorum (Willd.) Vahl

Family: Olacaceae

Synonyms

• Olax scandens Roxburgh.

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: wangon (Java), puluur (Madura)
• Malaysia: meribut, kodak acing
• Laos: 'ii thôk, kh'ôôy sièk
• Thailand: katokrok (central), phakrut (southern), nangchom (northern)
• Vietnam: dương dầu leo.

Distribution

From the tropical western Himalayas to Indo-China, Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia (Java, Lesser Sunda Islands).

Uses

The tasty young shoots are eaten raw.

Observations

• More or less scandent shrub, up to 20 m long, young branches patently pubescent, old branches with thorns.
• Leaves almost distichous, ovate to elliptical or oblong, 2-9.5 cm × 0.3-3.5 cm, thin, coriaceous.

In thickets and dry deciduous forest, up to 300 m altitude, often close to the sea.

Selected sources

7, 44, 91.