| Pandanus utilis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Pandanales |
| Family: | Pandanaceae |
| Genus: | Pandanus |
| Species: | P. utilis |
| Binomial name | |
| Pandanus utilis | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Pandanus utilis, the common screwpine is, despite its name, a monocot and not a pine. [2] It is native to Madagascar and naturalised in Mauritius and the Seychelles. [3]
The trunk features aerial prop roots. [4] The leaves are linear and spiny, with a spiral arrangement on the tree. The leaves are also dried out and rolled, and used to make mats in Kerala, India; and Hawaii. [5] Care must be taken when handling the leaves because of their sharp spines.
The fruit of Pandanus utilis is edible, although not flavorful to humans and must be cooked prior to consumption. [6] It attracts mammals such as, in North America, squirrels.
Within the family Pandanaceae, the genus Pandanus is thought to compose the largest group of plants. [7] It is estimated that there are somewhere between 500 and 1,000 species within this genus. Pandanus utilis (pan-DAY-nus YOO-tih-liss), otherwise known as the common screwpine, is one such plant within this family. The origin of P. utilis has traditionally been thought to be Madagascar, but more recently the Mascarene Islands have been suggested as a possible place of origin. [8] A long history of cultivation and transport to many parts of the world makes the origin difficult to trace. However, it is known to be grown in Senegal, Benin, Tanzania, Madagascar, Réunion, Maldives and Mauritius. [8] P. utilis has been introduced to many tropical and subtropical regions, including Central America, the Caribbean, the United States (southern Florida, Puerto Rico), Brazil, India, and Indonesia. [8]
Pandanus utilis was discovered by French naturalist Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent. Although they were given a common name of pine, they are monocots, more closely related to grasses, orchids and palms than to conifer trees such as pines. Their name is derived from the spiral arrangement of their leaves around the branches. [9]
Pandanus utilis is a palm-like evergreen tree, ranging in height up to 20 metres (66 ft). They are found in tropical areas and have an upright trunk that is smooth with many horizontal spreading branches with annular leaf scars. Old leaf scars spiral around the branches and trunk, like a screw. [10] The anatomy of Pandanaceae stems can be distinguished from other monocotyledons by the presence of a compound vascular bundle. This bi- or tripolar vascular bundle has two or three distinct conduction strands encased by a common bundle sheath. [7] At the end of each branch is a spiral cluster of long, linear leaves with a pectinate (comb-like) edge tapering to a long point at the apex. This margin is filled with small reddish colored teeth. The leaves are simple without lobes and can be up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) long and 3 to 11 centimetres (1.2 to 4.3 in) broad. They are without petioles and are broadly clasped at the base. The leaf venation is parallel running longitudinal. The blue/green to dark green leaves is rather stiff with a waxy texture. The leaves of P. utilis have a spongy tissue with numerous fibers arranged in bundles. These bundles can contain over 150 fibers. [8]
As with other member of the genus Pandanus, P. utilis lacks secondary growth. [7] The secondary growth of most trees is the production of wood to aid in support of the trunk. Without this supportive structure, the P. utilis grows many pale brown prop roots at the base of the trunk. These adventitious roots arise from the stem above the soil level and help support the plant. [11] These roots not only anchor the tree but also keep it upright during times of heavy winds and rain in tropical regions. Prop roots can be 2.5 to 7.5 centimetres (0.98 to 2.95 in) in diameter.
P. utilis is dioecious, with the female and male reproducing structures occurring on different plants. Individual plants are either male producing microspores or female producing megaspores. This plant being unisexual allows it to cross-fertilize with other screwpines. The male plants produce fragrant colorful flowers in long spikes. [10] These long spikes are with 8–12 stamens inserted pseudo-umbellately on slender columns 10 to 15 millimetres (0.39 to 0.59 in) long. [8] The female plants produce fruits resembling pineapples or oversized pine cones changing from green to yellow/orange when ripe. [10] The female structure has a 3–8 celled ovary crowned by a sessile stigma. [8]
This species is naturalised in several of the Mascarene islands, where it coexists with a great number of other indigenous and endemic Pandanus species. It can usually be distinguished from these however, by the tip of the free portion of each drupe of its fruit-head, which usually does not have an areole. The tip is usually also cleft between the stigmas. The fruit-heads are very variable, but usually stand out by being up to 20 cm wide and containing 100-200 drupes.
P. utilis grows well near the sea, being salt-tolerant. It is a strictly tropical tree that will not survive frost. It grows in full sun to partial shade but prefers at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. Seeds take two to three months to germinate. [8]
The screw pine has been shown to have many uses. In coastal areas, it has been used for erosion control due to its numerous aerial roots. [10] These roots help bind the sand dunes along the coast from eroding water and wind. The leaves of P. utilis are used in different cultures for thatching and the production of numerous materials. In areas like Madagascar, Réunion and Mauritius, the leaves are used to make ropes, baskets, mats, hats, place mats, nets, thatched roofs for homes and even paper. [8] The waxy covering over the leaves makes them especially attractive for baskets and roofs with their natural water-resistant surface. The fruits form a starchy food and can be eaten after being cooked. [8]
Pandalisines A and B are two novel indolizidine alkaloids from this plant. [12]
Few diseases have been recorded on members of the Pandanaceae within Papua New Guinea or worldwide. With the exception of a single suspected virus disease causing yellow mottling on the leaves and an MLO disease causing decline in P. utilis in Florida all diseases recorded on Pandanus have been caused by fungal pathogens. [13] No major pests are of much concern to this plant.
Pandanales, the pandans or screw-pines, is an order of flowering plants placed in the monocot clade in the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group and Angiosperm Phylogeny Web systems. Within the monocots Pandanales are grouped in the lilioid monocots where they are in a sister group relationship with the Dioscoreales. Historically the order has consisted of a number of different families in different systems but modern classification of the order is based primarily on molecular phylogenetics despite diverse morphology which previously placed many of the families in other groupings based on apparent similarity. Members of the order have a subtropical distribution and includes trees, shrubs, and vines as well as herbaceous plants. The order consists of 5 families, 36 genera and about 1,610 species.
Pandanus is a genus of monocots with some 578 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names include pandan, screw palm and screw pine. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.
Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus (screwpine) that is native to Malesia, Papuasia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. It grows in the coastal lowlands typically near the edge of the ocean. Common names in English include thatch screwpine, Tahitian screwpine, hala tree and pandanus. The fruit is edible and sometimes known as hala fruit.
Pandanus spiralis is native to northern Australia. It is commonly called common screwpine, iidool, pandanus palm, screw pine, screw palm or spring pandanus. It is neither a true palm, nor a pine.
Pandanus balfourii, also known as Vakwa bordmer, is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, one of four Pandanus species that are endemic to the Seychelles.
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. It supports leaves, flowers and fruits, transports water and dissolved substances between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem, photosynthesis takes place here, stores nutrients, and produces new living tissue. The stem can also be called halm or haulm or culms.
Pandanus odorifer is an aromatic monocot species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, native to Polynesia, Australia, South Asia, and the Philippines, and is also found wild in southern India and Burma. It is commonly known as fragrant screw-pine.
Pandanus laxespicatus is a screwpine or pandan of the wetlands of Madagascar, and belonging to the monocot family Pandanaceae. It was of fairly recent discovery, having been unknown to science prior to 1951 when described by Martelli and Pichi-Sermolli. For the next seventeen years, it was just another member of a large family, but in 1968 Dr. Benjamin C. Stone discovered that at a certain stage of its growth it produces the longest linear (ribbon-like) leaves of any known plant; up to 33 feet in length and 14 inches in width. P. laxispicatus belongs to the same section (Acanthophylla) as P. pulcher. P. odorissimus and P obeliscus, which are known collectively as the Coniferoids, because their numerous side branches cause them to resemble huge Christmas trees. The very large leaves are known as "crown megaphylls" and sometimes have the appearance of a green "star" at the top of the tree. As the megaphylls fall away with age, they are replaced by side shoots of much smaller leaves which account for the conifer-like appearance of the mature trees.
Pandanus heterocarpus is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae. It is commonly called the "Rodrigues screwpine", known locally as "vacoa parasol" or "vacoa cale rouge". It is endemic to the island of Rodrigues.
Pandanus rigidifolius is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius.
Pandanus glaucocephalus is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius.
Pandanus barkleyi is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius.
The karuka is a species of tree in the screwpine family (Pandanaceae) and an important regional food crop in New Guinea. The nuts are more nutritious than coconuts, and are so popular that villagers in the highlands will move their entire households closer to trees for the harvest season.
Pandanus simplex is an economically important species of Pandanus (screwpine) endemic to the Philippines. It is commonly known as karagumoy or kalagimay. Its leaves and fibers are used widely in the Philippines for thatching, ropes, and weaving various traditional handicrafts like baskets and mats.
Pandanus erectus a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae. It is native to Madagascar, described growing in secondary forest in the Maroantsetra area of NE Madagascar. Some references list Pandanus concretus as the accepted name, with Pandanus centrifugalis, P. dauphinensis, P. erectus and P. madagascarensis as synonyms.
Pandanus spicatus a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae. It is native to Madagascar.
Pandanus pluriloculatus is a dioecious tree in the family Pandanaceae which is endemic to Madagascar. The specific epithet, pluriloculatus, is a reference to the numerous locules in a compound ovary.
Pandanus subglobosus is a dioecious tropical shrub in the screwpine genus. It is endemic to Madagascar. The specific epithet, "subglobosus", refers to the nearly-round fruits. The accepted name for this species is now Pandanus oligocarpus.
Pandanus gemmifer, commonly known as pup pandan, is a plant in the family Pandanaceae that is endemic to northeast Queensland. It is closely related to Pandanus grayorum and Pandanus solms-laubachii.
Benstonea monticola, commonly known as scrub breadfruit or urchin-fruited pandan, is a plant in the family Pandanaceae which is endemic to rainforested parts of north east Queensland, Australia.
