Pandanus palustris

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Pandanus palustris
PandanpalustrisWASP.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Pandanales
Family: Pandanaceae
Genus: Pandanus
Species:
P. palustris
Binomial name
Pandanus palustris
Synonyms [2]
  • Vinsonia palustris (Thouars) Gaudich.

Pandanus palustris ("Vacoas des marais") is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius. It was once common in marshes and in the wetter highlands of Mauritius, but is now threatened by habitat loss.

Description

Drupes of Pandanus palustris (far right). Illustration from 1836 to 1837. Drupes of Pandanus palustris illus - 1836-7.jpg
Drupes of Pandanus palustris (far right). Illustration from 1836 to 1837.

A tall (8–10 m), erect, solitary tree, with a large, dense rosette of slender, drooping, pale-green leaves. The leaf margins are completely lined with tiny cream coloured spines, that often develop brown tips. Older leaves are persistent at the base of the rosette.

This species can also be distinguished from its closest relatives by its very large, round fruit-heads, which are partially enclosed in protective leafy bracts. Each fruit-head is packed with 40-60 drupes. Each enormous, green-brown, 3-6-locular drupe has a raised, pyramid-like free portion, and has a deeply cleft tip. The drupe is also topped by large (6-10mm wide), irregular, fleshy stigmas. Similar to Pandanus pyramidalis , the joined portion of the drupes inside the fruit-head becomes light-yellow when ripe. [3] [4] [5]

Related Research Articles

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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.

<i>Pandanus utilis</i> Species of tree

Pandanus utilis, the common screwpine is, despite its name, a monocot and not a pine. It is native to Madagascar and naturalised in Mauritius and the Seychelles.

<i>Roscheria</i> Species of plant

Roscheria is an endangered, monotypic genus of flowering plant in the palm family. The genus is named for Albrecht Roscher, a 19th-century German explorer, and the epithet for its single species R. melanochaetes derives from Latin and Greek meaning 'black' and 'bristle', alluding to the spines covering the trunks. They naturally occur on the Mahé and Silhouette Islands of Seychelles where they grow in mountainous rainforest and are threatened by habitat loss.

Pandanus carmichaelii is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae. It is endemic to Mauritius.

Pandanus microcarpus is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius.

Pandanus pyramidalis is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius.

<i>Pandanus vandermeeschii</i> Species of plant

Pandanus vandermeeschii is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae. It is endemic to the coastal areas of Mauritius.

<i>Pandanus iceryi</i> Species of plant

Pandanus iceryi ("Vacoas") is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae. It is endemic to Mauritius.

<i>Pandanus heterocarpus</i> Species of plant

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.

<i>Pandanus conglomeratus</i> Species of plant

Pandanus conglomeratus is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius, but possibly extinct.

<i>Pandanus drupaceus</i> Species of flowering plant

Pandanus drupaceus is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius.

<i>Pandanus rigidifolius</i> Species of flowering plant

Pandanus rigidifolius is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius.

Pandanus prostratus is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius.

<i>Pandanus eydouxia</i> Species of plant

Pandanus eydouxia is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius.

<i>Pandanus glaucocephalus</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

Pandanus incertus is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius.

Pandanus sphaeroides is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius.

Pandanus aridus is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Pandanaceae. It is native and endemic to Madagascar, found in fragmented locations in the southern third of the country. Pandanus aridus H. St. John is the accepted name, with a synonym of Pandanus toliarensis Huynh.

Pandanus connatus is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae native to northern Madagascar.

References

  1. ↑ Page, W. (1998). "Pandanus palustris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1998: e.T34317A9858233. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1998.RLTS.T34317A9858233.en . Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Pandanus palustris". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  3. ↑ Vaughan RE, Wiehe PO (1953) The genus Pandanus in the Mascarene Islands. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Botany 55(356): 1-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.1953.tb00001.x.
  4. ↑ Strahm, W.A. 1993. The conservation and restoration of the flora of Mauritius and Rodrigues. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis (2 vols.), Reading University, UK.
  5. ↑ Vaughan, R.E. and Wiehe, P.O. 1953. Flore des Mascareignes, Genus Pandanus. The Sugar Industry Research Institute, Mauritius, ORSTOM, Paris and RBG, Kew.


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