''Pandanus tectorius'' is a species of ''
Pandanus
''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 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 ...
'' (screwpine) that is native to
Malesia
Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. It has been given different definitions. The ...
,
Papuasia
Papuasia is a Level 2 botanical region defined in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in the Melanesia ecoregion of Oceania and Tropical Asia.
It comprises the f ...
, eastern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and the
Pacific Islands
Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...
. It grows in the coastal lowlands typically near the edge of the ocean.
Common names in English include thatch screwpine,
Tahitian screwpine,
hala tree ( in Hawaiian) and pandanus.
The edible fruit is sometimes known as hala fruit.
Description
''P. tectorius'' is a small
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
that grows upright to reach in height.
The single
trunk is slender with brown ringed bark.
It is spiny, grows to 4.5–11 m (15–35 ft) in width,
and forks at a height of .
It is supported by
aerial roots
Aerial roots are roots above the ground. They are almost always adventitious. They are found in diverse plant species, including epiphytes such as orchids (''Orchidaceae''), tropical coastal swamp trees such as mangroves, banyan figs (''Fic ...
(prop roots) that firmly anchors the tree to the ground.
Roots sometimes grow along the branch,
and they grow at wide angles in proportion to the trunk.
林投 20190525170309.jpg, Growth habit
林投 20190530190950.jpg, Aerial roots
林投帶刺氣生根與新葉 20190525170359.jpg, Spiny aerial roots and leaflets
Pandanus tectorius fruit.jpg, Fruit showing phalanges
Flowers
![Hīnano - panoramio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/H%C4%ABnano_-_panoramio.jpg)
''Pandanus tectorius'' is
dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
, meaning male and female
flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s are borne on separate trees,
with very different male and female
flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...
s. Male flowers, known as
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
s, are small, fragrant, and short-lived, lasting only a single day. The flowers are grouped in 3 and gathered in large clusters
surrounded by big, white
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
s.
these clusters are about 1 ft in length and are
fragrant
An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently vol ...
.
Female flowers resemble
pineapple
The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centuri ...
s.
In Hawaiʻi the male flower is called ''hīnano'' and the bracts are used for making very fine mats (''moena hīnano or ''ʻahu hīnano'').
Fruit
The female ''P. tectorius'' trees produce a segmented, large
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
.
Although not closely related,
the fruit resembles a pineapple.
The
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
of ''P. tectorius'' is either
ovoid,
ellipsoid
An ellipsoid is a surface that may be obtained from a sphere by deforming it by means of directional scalings, or more generally, of an affine transformation.
An ellipsoid is a quadric surface; that is, a surface that may be defined as the ...
, subglobose or
globose
A sphere () is a geometrical object that is a three-dimensional analogue to a two-dimensional circle. A sphere is the set of points that are all at the same distance from a given point in three-dimensional space.. That given point is the ...
with a diameter of and a length of .
The fruit is made up of 38–200 wedge-like phalanges, often referred to as keys or
carpels
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...
, which have an outer fibrous
husk
Husk (or hull) in botany is the outer shell or coating of a seed. In the United States, the term husk often refers to the leafy outer covering of an ear of maize (corn) as it grows on the plant. Literally, a husk or hull includes the protective ...
and are 8 inches in length.
There are roughly 40 to 80 keys in each fruit and the color of the fruit can be yellow, orange, or red with a green top.
Phalanges contain two
seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s on average, with a maximum of eight reported. The phalanges are
buoyant
Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward force exerted by a fluid that opposes the weight of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the pr ...
, and the
seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s within them can remain viable for many months while being
transported
''Transported'' is an Australian convict melodrama film directed by W. J. Lincoln. It is considered a lost film.
Plot
In England, Jessie Grey is about to marry Leonard Lincoln but the evil Harold Hawk tries to force her to marry him and she w ...
by
ocean current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, s ...
s.
Leaves
The
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
of ''Pandanus tectorius'' are usually in length
and in width.
They possess saw-like margins. Some varieties have spines along the edges and ribs throughout the leaves.
The leaves are spirally arranged at the end of the branches.
Taxonomy
''Pandanus tectorius'' was first described by
Sydney Parkinson
Sydney Parkinson (c. 1745 – 26 January 1771) was a Scottish botanical illustrator and natural history artist. He was the first European artist to visit Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti. Parkinson was the first Quaker to visit New Zealand.
...
in 1774.
[ It is an ]angiosperm
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
belonging to the genus ''Pandanus
''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 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 ...
'' of the family Pandanaceae
Pandanaceae is a family of flowering plants native to the tropics and subtropics of the Old World, from West Africa through the Pacific. It contains 982 known species in five genera, of which the type genus, ''Pandanus'', is the most important, wi ...
.
Distribution
''Pandanus tectorius'' grows natively from the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
through the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
to Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
. It is found in parts of Malesia
Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. It has been given different definitions. The ...
(the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
)
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, song_type =
, song =
, image_map = Australia on the globe (Cocos (Keeling) Islands special) (Southeast Asia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands
, map_caption = ...
, Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...
, the Lesser Sunda Islands
The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up t ...
, the Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...
and the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
), throughout Papuasia
Papuasia is a Level 2 botanical region defined in the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD). It lies in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in the Melanesia ecoregion of Oceania and Tropical Asia.
It comprises the f ...
, and in most of the tropical Pacific. In Australia, it is native to an area from Port Macquarie
Port Macquarie is a coastal town in the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. The town is located on the Tasman Sea co ...
in New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
to northern Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
. Both the US and the Hawaiian Islands recognize only one indigenous species, ''P. tectorius''. Its exact native range is unknown due to extensive cultivation; it may be an early Polynesian introduction
Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to:
General use
* Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music
* Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...
to many of the more isolated Pacific islands on which it occurs. These islands include Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
and Melanesia
Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea.
The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...
. In Hawaii, ''P. tectorius'' is found natively on all the main islands except Kahoʻolawe
Kahoolawe (Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Kahoolawe (), is the smallest of the eight main volcano, volcanic islands in the Hawaiian Islands. Kahoolawe is located about southwest of Maui and also southeast of Lanai, Lānaʻi, and it is long by wide ...
, and it is known to have predated human settlement, based on seed and pollen samples taken from Kauai
Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...
's Makauwahi Cave
The Makauwahi Cave is the largest limestone cave found in Hawaii. It lies on the south coast of the island of Kauai, in the Māhāulepū Valley close to Māhāulepū Beach, and is important for its paleoecological and archaeological values. I ...
.
Habitat
''Pandanus tectorius'' naturally grows in coast
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...
al regions, such as on mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...
margins and beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...
es, at elevations from sea level to . It requires of annual rainfall and seasons will fluctuate from wet to dry.
''Pandanus tectorius'' is considered more drought tolerant than coconut trees. The trees have adapted to drought by reducing fruiting. Thatch Screwpine is well adapted to grow in the many soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
types present on coasts, including quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...
, coral sand
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secr ...
, and peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...
, as well as in limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
and basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
. ''P. tectorius'' is salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
and wind tolerant and favors slightly acid
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
ic to basic
BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...
soil ( pH of 6–10). The trees are strong and can typically withstand tropical storms. It prefers to grow in full sunlight, but grows well with 30-50% shade. It will not tolerate shade above 70%.
Ecology
There are a wide range of natural enemies that pose a threat to ''P. tectorius'' such as parasites
Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted structurally to this way of lif ...
, pathogen
In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...
s, and herbivore
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
s. They attack the leaves, roots, stems, and growing points. The stick insect
The Phasmatodea (also known as Phasmida, Phasmatoptera or Spectra) are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick-bugs, walking sticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred to as ...
''Megacrania batesii
''Megacrania batesii'', commonly known as the peppermint stick insect, is an unusual species of stick insect found in northeastern Australia, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and possibly as far north as the Philippines. ...
'' lives and feeds only on ''P. tectorius'' and two other ''Pandanus'' species.
''Pandanus tectorius'' in Australia is threatened by a sap-sucking insect, ''Jamella australiae'', a species of the genus '' Jamella'' of the subfamily Flatinae
The Flatinae are a subfamily of planthoppers, erected by Maximilian Spinola in 1839. Genera have been recorded from all continents except Antarctica: especially in tropical and subtropical regions.
Description
Like all other planthoppers, they ...
, known as the Pandanus planthopper. It has caused much damage to plants on the northern coast of New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, before making its way up the coast to Noosa
The Shire of Noosa is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it was ...
and the Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
in Queensland in the 1990s. Since then it has infested pandanus further north, killing about 80 per cent of the ''P. tectorius'' population to the south of Gladstone, Queensland
Gladstone () is a coastal city in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. Gladstone has an urban population of 34,703, and together with Boyne Island and Tannum Sands, had an estimated population of 50,317 at August 2021. This urban area co ...
, and has since reached Yeppoon
Yeppoon is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. Yeppoon is renowned for its beaches, tropical climate, and the islands out on the bay. Located from the city of Rockhampton, Yeppoon is the seat of the ...
on the Capricorn Coast
The Capricorn Coast is a stretch of coastline in Central Queensland, Australia and is part of the Shire of Livingstone (formerly part of Rockhampton Region).
Geography
The Capricorn Coasts takes its name from Cape Capricorn () on Curtis Is ...
, where ''P. tectorius'' plays an important part in preventing coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...
.[ A natural predator in the form of a wasp native to northern Queensland, '' Aphanomerus pusillus'', has been introduced on ]Fraser Island
Fraser Island ( Butchulla: ) is a World Heritage-listed island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region, Queensland, Australia. The island is approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is within the Fras ...
and in Byfield National Park
Byfield National Park is a national park in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia.
Geography
The park is 70 km north-east of Rockhampton. The parks encloses 12 km of coastline including four beaches.
To the north of th ...
[ as one of methods used to combat the pest. Other methods used on Fraser Island including the injection of ]insecticide
Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to b ...
into the plant, stripping infested leaves away, and breeding new plants from local stock. The wasp can only be used in the warmer months on the island, as it does not thrive in the cooler climate of southern Queensland.[
]
Cultivation
''Pandanus tectorius'' plants grown from seed tend to flower at around 15 years old versus those grown from branch cutting. Flowering from trees grown from cuttings happens much earlier, typically by 3 to 4 years of age and always by 6 years old. (thom) The trees are either male of female. Female trees typically flower 1 to 3 times per year while male trees will flower every 2 months. It is thought to reproduce sexually in Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, but there is some evidence that apomixis
In botany, apomixis is asexual reproduction without fertilization. Its etymology is Greek for "away from" + "mixing". This definition notably does not mention meiosis. Thus "normal asexual reproduction" of plants, such as propagation from cuttin ...
occurs. Small insects, such as bees, and wind are usually the pollinators. It takes 1 to 2 years from pollination to harvest to produce fruit on female trees.
Seasons vary amongst locations and varieties. For example, in Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
the pollination season is March to May, in northern Australia it is April to August, and in Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
, there are two season December to March and July to September. Most varieties produce 8 to 12 fruits per tree every 2 years. Each fruit usually weighs between 7 and 15 kg and contains 35 to 80 edible keys.
''Pandanus tectorius'' plants are usually propagated by seed in Hawaii. Soak the keys in cool tap water for 5 days while frequently changing the water. Viable keys will float, so it is important to keep them. In ''Growing native Hawaiian plants: a how-to guide for the gardner'', Bornhorst says to remove the fleshy layer of the key and then bury the seed half-way in planting soil. It is important to keep the soil most.
''P. tectorius'' can also be grown from large cutting. Selected forms are propagated by stem cuttings in Micronesia. Morphological traits looked for include aerial roots. Plants selected have 2/3 of their leaves trimmed off to prevent water loss. In Native Hawaiian plants for tropical seaside landscaping, Moriarty says for best results use mature branches with leaves and small aerial roots. Then root in a sand bed. Plants grown from cutting produce fruit in 4 to 6 years.
Propagation by grafting is not applicable.
Uses
The fruit of ''Pandanus tectorius'' is edible. Some varieties and cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
s contain significant amounts of calcium oxalate
Calcium oxalate (in archaic terminology, oxalate of lime) is a calcium salt of oxalic acid with the chemical formula . It forms hydrates , where ''n'' varies from 1 to 3. Anhydrous and all hydrated forms are colorless or white. The monohydrate ...
, so need thorough cooking before being consumed. Other cultivars contain very little to no calcium oxalate and can be eaten raw. It is an important food source in the atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...
s of Micronesia
Micronesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of about 2,000 small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: the Philippines to the west, Polynesia to the east, and ...
and Polynesia
Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...
, with the fruit commonly eaten raw or turned into a dried paste (e.g., the mokwan in the Marshall Islands
The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
or the te tuae in Kiribati
Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),[Kiribati]
''The Wor ...
) or flour. It is also one of the traditional foods of Maldivian cuisine
Maldivian cuisine, also called Dhivehi cuisine, is the cuisine of the Nation of Maldives and of Minicoy, India. The traditional cuisine of Maldivians is based on three main items and their derivatives: coconuts, fish and starches.
Coconuts
T ...
. The fibrous nature of the fruit also serves as a natural dental floss
Dental floss is a cord of thin filaments used in interdental cleaning to remove food and dental plaque from between teeth or places a toothbrush has difficulty reaching or is unable to reach. Its regular use as part of oral cleaning is designed ...
. It is also used in Samoan culture as a ''ula fala'', a necklace made out of the dried fruit painted in red and is worn by the matai during special occasions and functions.
Australian Aboriginal peoples extracted the slender, edible seeds. This seed and the fruit, was an important food.
The tree's leaves are often used as flavoring for sweet dishes. It is also used in Sri Lankan cookery, where the leaves are used to flavor a variety of curries. Leaves were used by the Polynesians
Polynesians form an ethnolinguistic group of closely related people who are native to Polynesia (islands in the Polynesian Triangle), an expansive region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Sou ...
to make baskets, mats, outrigger canoe
Outrigger boats are various watercraft featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull. They can range from small dugout canoes to large plank-built vessels. Outrigger ...
sails
A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...
, thatch
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...
roofs, and grass skirt
A grass skirt is a costume and garment made with layers of plant fibres such as grasses and leaves that is fastened at the waistline.
Pacific
Grass skirts were introduced to Hawaii by immigrants from the Gilbert Islands around the 1870s to 1880s a ...
s.
The fragrant male flowers are used in perfumery and are also distilled to make Kewra
Kewra, keora or kewda ( hi, केवड़ा, bn, কেওড়া, , ur, کیوڑہ, pa, ਕੇਵੜਾ) is an essential oil distilled from the male flower of the fragrant screwpine. The plant is native to Tropical Asia, Southeast Asia ...
.
A large shrub or small tree of immense cultural, health, and economic importance in the Pacific, it is second only to coconut on atolls. It grows wild mainly in semi-natural vegetation in littoral
The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...
habitats throughout the tropical and subtropical Pacific, where it can withstand drought, strong winds, and salt spray. It propagates readily from seed, but it is also widely propagated from branch cuttings by local people for farms and home gardens. It grows fairly quickly, and all parts are used, from the nutritious fruits of edible varieties to the poles and branches in construction to the leaves for weaving and garlands. The plant is prominent in Pacific culture and tradition, including local medicine.
Hundreds of cultivated varieties are known by their local names and characteristics of fruits, branches, and leaves. At present, there is evidence that this diversity is declining, with certain varieties becoming difficult to find. The reasons include less replanting, deforestation, fire, flagging interest by the new generation, and rapid population growth leading to urbanization.
Culture
The seal of Punahou School
Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...
in Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
, Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
features the hala tree, in part because lauhala ''Lauhala'', ''lau'' meaning "leaf" in the Hawaiian language, refers to the leaves of the hala tree ''(Pandanus tectorius)''.
Uses
The hala tree is of great cultural, health and economic importance in many Pacific Islands. The fruit of the tree i ...
, the art of weaving with the leaves of that tree, is pivotal to the history of the island, with everything from houses to pillows being made in this fashion. Local legend tells of an aged Hawaiian couple who lived long ago above the present Punahou campus, and had to travel far for water. They prayed each night for a spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season)
Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
, but to no avail. Finally one night, in a dream answering their prayers, they were told to uproot the stump of an old hala tree. They did as they were told and found a spring of clear, sweet water, which they named Ka Punahou, the New Spring. According to legend, Punahou School's lily pond is fed by this same spring.
Gallery
File:Pandanus tectorius fruit (riped).JPG, Ripe fruit
File:Pandanus.jpg, Fruit
File:Owoce Pandan.jpg, Close up of keys, or stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
File:Pandanus tectorius (5187732877).jpg, Roots
See also
* Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia
One of the major Early human migrations, human migration events was the Maritime history, maritime Austronesian expansion, settlement of Austronesia, the islands of the Indo-Pacific by the Austronesian peoples, believed to have started from at l ...
References
External links
''Pandanus tectorius'' from Foster Garden, Honolulu, Oahu Island, Hawai'i
University of Murcia. Spain
* NSW Department of Environment & Climate Chang
* Australian Native Plants - John W. Wrigley & Murray Fagg
* Christenhusz, M.J.M. (2009). Typification of ornamental plants: ''Pandanus tectorius'' (Pandanaceae). ''Phytotaxa
''Phytotaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal for rapid publication on any aspect of systematic botany. It publishes on a wide range of subjects, but focuses on new species, monographs, floras, revisions, reviews, and typification issues. ...
'' 2: 51–52.
The World's Best Photos of puhala
Flickr Hive Mind, flickrhivemind.net, related pictures, also the fruits partially dismantled
{{Authority control
tectorius
Australian cuisine
Oceanian cuisine
Gilbertese cuisine
Marshallese cuisine
Micronesian cuisine
Polynesian cuisine
Flora of Malesia
Flora of Papuasia
Flora of New South Wales
Flora of Queensland
Flora of the Pacific
Plants described in 1773
Edible fruits