Scientific Name: Pandanus tectorius

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  • Pronunciation:
    pan-DAN-us teck-TORY-us
  • Common Name:
    Pandanus, Screw Pine
  • Type:
    Tree
  • Family:
    PANDANACEAE
  • Flowers:
    Perfumed male flowers to 40cm
  • Fruit:
    Large fruit to 18 x 13cm with tropical scent
  • Vegetation Type:
    Seacoast
  • Species List:
    Weyba Esp, Plants for Coastal Gardens, Bush food, Bush medicine, Craft, NLTalks2010, Biosphere Day Noosa Woods, Peregian Boardwalk, NNP service road, Kingfisher Bay Resort, Fraser Island, NNP Coastal BHNR, Regional Ecosystem 12.2.14.
Cultural Notes

TAKE CARE! Some information about bush foods and medicines may be anecdotal. Correct identification and preparation is essential:

Leaves used for weaving. Leaves used as wrappers in cooking. Fibres obtained from aerial prop roots.|Soft trunks lashed together for fishing rafts.

Bush medicine: white liquid obtained from crushing stem and root system was applied to wounds or used as a mouthwash to relieve toothache. sore mouth or sore throat.; inner core of trunk eaten for diarrhoea.

Bush food: fruit eaten after extensive preparation. The fruit segments may be roasted and the flesh sucked from the base, then split with a tomahawk or similar implement to extract the small oily seeds. The whitish leaf bases may be cooked as a vegetable, and the leaves themselves used for weaving and thatching.

Associated Fauna

Fruit bats and ocean currents are the main means of dispersal. Eaten by fruit bats, turtles, fish, birds.

Landscaping Notes

Very hardy tree for well drained situations. Tolerant of exposed seaside sites. Architectural, feature foliage