Pandanus Tectorius seed

LATIN NAME: PANDANUS TECTORIUS

COMMON NAME: Screwpine, Thatch Screwpine

The Pandanus tectorius, or screwpine, is one of the most distinctive and useful of the tropical coastal plants, and its prop roots, its spirally-arranged, long, sword-shaped leaves and its large, pineapple-like fruits have made it a plant of the tropical coastlines and the gardens across the regions of the Pacific and the Indian Ocean. It grows as a small to medium-sized, evergreen tree or a large shrub of the screwpine family, reaching up to ten metres or more, with the distinctive, stilt-like prop roots which support the tree and the spirally-arranged, long, sword-shaped, spiny-margined, bright-green leaves borne at the ends of the branches, and bearing the male and the female flowers on separate trees, the female flowers developing into the large, round, pineapple-like, segmented fruits. It is a species of the flowering plant, native to the tropical coastlines of the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, while it has been used by the coastal peoples for the leaves, the fruit and the medicine for a very long time, and it is known as the screwpine or the thatch screwpine.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The screwpine has a real and distinguished place in research. It has been studied in the ecology and the coastal science, since the Pandanus tectorius is a key plant of the tropical coastlines and a stabilizer of the sand dunes, and the researchers have examined its adaptation to the salt, the wind and the poor soil, and its role in the coastal ecosystems, while the study of the coastal plants has drawn attention in the international ecological press. The plant has also been studied in the ethnobotany and the traditional-medicine science, since the screwpine has been used by the coastal peoples for the thatch, the weaving, the food and the medicine, and the researchers have examined its many uses and its constituents, while the study of the useful tropical plants has been of continuing interest. The species has also been studied in the horticulture, since it is a distinctive, ornamental plant for the tropical garden and the coastal landscape, and the researchers have examined its cultivation and its propagation, while the prop roots and the spirally-arranged leaves of the screwpine have been of interest to the botanists and the gardeners. For a plant of such distinction, the Pandanus tectorius has a rich and distinguished record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

To grow the Screwpine from seed, the screwpine is a small to medium-sized, evergreen tree of the tropical coastlines, bearing the prop roots and the spirally-arranged, long, sword-shaped leaves, followed by the large, pineapple-like fruits. Its fruits are a food for the coastal wildlife and the humans, and its prop roots help to stabilize the sand dunes and the coastal soil, while its distinctive, architectural habit gives a fine presence in the tropical garden and the coastal landscape. Its economic value is real: the screwpine is prized as a useful, coastal plant for the thatch, the weaving and the ornamental landscape, and its value has drawn attention in the international ethnobotanical and horticultural press, while the distinctive, prop-rooted habit and the easy cultivation have made it a favourite of the tropical gardens and the coastal landscapes, and the plant is a fine addition to the tropical garden, the coastal landscape and the large container. To raise the screwpine, sow the seeds in pots of moist, sandy soil in a warm, bright place, keep them gently watered, and grow the little plants on in the warmth.

sow the seeds in pots of moist, sandy soil in a warm, bright place, keep the young pandanus gently watered, and grow the little plants on in the warmth.

 

 

 

 

 Creating a striking landscape effect wherever it is used, Hala, the Hawaiian Screw Pine, creates a tropical landscape effect wherever it is used. It has an open multi-branched silhouette and can grow to 40 foot in height and can spread 12-30 feet. Grown as an exotic landscape specimen in frost-free zones, trees will experience leaf burn at below 28 F. The Hawaiian Screw Pine is a medium to fast grower and can tolerate light drought, and salt spray. An exotic tropical species from Polynesia that produces a robust, stilt-rooted trunk and a thick densely spiraling crown of mildly spiny light green or often blue-green leaves with very attractive red margins. Screw-Pine has a pyramidal, sometimes irregular, open, but much-branched silhouette, the smooth, stout trunks topped with full, graceful heads of long, thin leaves, three feet long and three inches wide, emerging spirally from stubby branches.

Height: 20-40 ft.

Hardiness: USDA Zones 9-11, Minimum Temp – 26 degrees Full Sun or Light Shade – Plant in fast draining soil.

Sun Exposure: Sun to Partial Shade

Bloom Color: White/Near WhiteCream/Tan, Blooms all year.

Soil pH requirements: 6.6 to 7.5 (neutral) 7.6 to 7.8 (mildly alkaline)

Other details: Flowers are fragrant Requires consistently moist soil; do not let dry out between waterings Suitable for growing in containers

Danger: Handling plant may cause skin irritation or allergic reaction Plant has spines or sharp edges; use extreme caution when handling The blue-green foliage color adds to the striking nature of this exotic tree. Pandanus tectorius also makes a stunning container plant for indoors or out. The saw toothed leaves are similar to those of a pineapple plant and emerge spirally from the stilt raised trunk to create a spectacular tropical effect. Small plants are tough and easy to grow and will grow for anybody. Striking plant with long sword-shaped leaves produced in a spiral rosette. As a trunk forms the tree will branch to form several heads, eventually giving a very regular conical specimen plant about 40 feet tall and wide if space allows. Suitable for the home or a greenhouse. Family: Pandanaceae Genus: Pandanus (PAN-dan-us) Species: tectorius

Common Names Hala, Hawaiian Screw Pine Pandanus Pu hala Screw Pine

Alternative Botanical Names Pandanus chamissonis Pandanus douglasii Pandanus menziesii Pandanus odoratissimus

Potential or Traditional Uses Fiber Landscape Lei (Flower or seed) medicine

The leaves are edged with small red spines and are used to make mats and baskets in the tropics. The leaves of screw pines have fine hooked spines along the edges. But these leaves are tough which makes them useful for thatching, mats, and baskets. Branches have prominent leaf scars which encircle the stems. Large brace-roots emerge from the trunk several feet above the ground, helping to support the plant. Screw-Pine is capable of reaching 50 feet in height but is not usually seen over 25 feet in USDA hardiness zone 10 and 11, with a spread of 15 feet. Growth rate is slow to moderate, depending upon fertilization and watering schedules, and Screw-Pine is very popular for use as a specimen or container planting. But pines they are not; these odd plants are monocots, related to grasses, orchids, and palms. It is not a true pine tree; it is a member of the Pandanaceae family..

Members of the genus are dioecious; male and female flowers are produced on different plants. Pandanus tectorius trees are either male or female. Female trees produce a large, segmented fruit somewhat resembling a pineapple. Male trees produce large clusters of tiny, fragrant flowers surrounded by white to cream colored bracts. The female flowers are crowded along the flower spike. Each flower gives rise to a fruit, known as a drupe. A drupe is a single seed within a fleshy outer layer. (Cherries and olives are examples of drupes.) One hundred or more drupes, each from a female flower, form the aggregate fruit of the screw pine. These clusters are about 1 foot long and are called hinano in Hawaiian.The flowers of the male tree are 1 inch long and fragrant, surrounded by narrow, white bracts. The female tree produces flowers with round fruits that are also bract-surrounded. The fruits are around 8 inches long and have many prism-like sections, resembling the fruit of the pineapple. Typically, the fruit changes from green to bright orange or red as it matures.

Pandanus tectorius is a small tree growing 20 to 40 feet in height and from 15 to 35 feet in diameter. The trunk is stout and the branches grow at wide angles to it. It has distinctive long blade-like leaves (lau hala) about 2 inches wide and over 2 feet long. Most varieties have spines along the edges and on the midribs of the leaves. Spineless and variegated forms are available. The leaves are spirally arranged towards the ends of the branches and leave a spiral pattern on the trunk when they fall. Pandanus tectorius trees develop support or prop roots (ule hala) at the base of the trunk and sometimes along the branches. It has a stout, wide-branching trunk ringed with many leaf scars. Screw pines received their common name from the fact that the strap-like leaves are spirally arranged around the branches. They are dioecious; staminate (male) or ovulate (female) flowers are borne on separate plants. The male flowers are noted for their fragrance, the females for their distinctive pineapple-like fruit. Ancient Hawaiians used almost every part of the plant. Pandanus trees provided materials for housing, clothing and textiles, food, medicine, ornament, fishing, and religious uses.

As screw pines grow larger, they produce prop roots around the base of trunk. These roots act as anchors and aid in keeping the screw pines upright during times of heavy winds and rain. Pandanus is known for the many thick prop roots near its base which provide support as the tree grows top-heavy with leaves, fruit, and branches. Sometimes, though, the lower trunk is injured and decays, leaving the screw pine standing on its prop roots.