Pandanus tectorius

Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus (screwpine) that is native to Malesia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. Common names include Tahitian screwpine, thatch screwpine, hala (Hawaiian), fala (Samoan), bacua (Spanish), vacquois (French), kaithai (கைதை) or thaazhai (தாழை) (Tamil) and mudu keyiya (Sinhala).

Description

P. tectorius is a tree that grows to 4–14 m (13–46 ft) tall. The single trunk is spiny and forks at a height of 4–8 metres (13–26 ft). It is supported by prop roots that firmly anchor the tree to the ground. Its leaves are usually 90–150 cm (3.0–4.9 ft) long and 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) wide with saw-like margins.

Flowers

Pandanus tectorius is dioecious, with very different male and female flowers. Male flowers are small, fragrant, form clusters or racemes, and short lived, lasting only a single day. Female flowers resemble pineapples.

Fruit

The fruit of P. tectorius is either ovoid, ellipsoid, subglobose or globose with a diameter of 4–20 cm (1.6–7.9 in) and a length of 8–30 cm (3.1–11.8 in). The fruit is made up of 38–200 wedge-like phalanges, which have an outer fibrous husk. Phalanges contain two seeds on average, with a maximum of eight reported. The phalanges are buoyant, and the seeds within them can remain viable for many months while being transported by ocean currents.

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