Pandanus prostratus

Last updated

Pandanus prostratus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Pandanales
Family: Pandanaceae
Genus: Pandanus
Species:
P. prostratus
Binomial name
Pandanus prostratus
Synonyms [1]

Pandanus conoideusThouars

Pandanus prostratus ("Vacoas conique") is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae, endemic to Mauritius.

Contents

Description

A low (3-4m) branching tree, with slender, upturned branches that form a canopy. The trunk is first prostrate but becomes erect as the plant matures. Each stem is topped with a dense tuft of slender, drooping leaves. Older dead leaves are persistent around the stems just below the tuft. The leaves have white spines that are densest near the upper bit of the leaf, and darker and rarer lower down.

This species is also distinguished by its oblong fruit-heads, appearing first erect and then drooping. Each fruit-head is packed with uniseriate rows of long, narrow drupes. The exposed portions of the drupes are pale grey, and the internal portion becomes light yellow when ripe.

Occasionally this species bears more than one fruit-head on the same peduncle. This feature is normally only found in the extinct Pandanus conglomeratus . [2] [3] [4]

Habitat

It is endemic to Mauritius, and isolated individuals can still be found in thickets in the highlands. It often grows alongside the common and widespread Pandanus eydouxia . [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Pandanus</i> Genus of palm-like monocot trees and shrubs

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 tectorius</i> Species of plant

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.

<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.

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

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

Pandanus palustris 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.

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

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

Pandanus montanus is a species of monocots in the genus Pandanus, endemic to Réunion in wet forest and swamp at an elevation of 400–1700 meters.

<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 tenuifolius</i> Species of plant

Pandanus tenuifolius is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae. It is endemic to the island of Rodrigues.

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

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

<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.

<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.

References

  1. ↑ "Pandanus prostratus Balf.f." Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ Strahm, W.A. 1993. The conservation and restoration of the flora of Mauritius and Rodrigues. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis (2 vols.), Reading University, UK.
  4. ↑ Vaughan, R.E. and Wiehe, P.O. 1953. Flore des Mascareignes, Genus Pandanus. The Sugar Industry Research Institute, Mauritius, ORSTOM, Paris and RBG, Kew.
  5. ↑ Roskov Y., Abucay L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., De Wever A., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds. (2018). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life, 20 December 2017. Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/col. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-8858.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.