Common name: Screw Pine
Pandanus tectorius Parkinson ex Du Roi APNI* Synonyms: Pandanus tectorius var. australianus Martelli APNI*
Pandanus pedunculatus R.Br. APNI*
Pandanus veitchii Mast. APNI*
Pandanus baptistii Hort. APNI*
Pandanus sanderi Sander APNI*
Pandanus stradbrokensis St.John APNI*
Description: Shrub or small tree to 5 m high, with prop roots; stem much-branched; stem and branches ringed with distinct leaf scars.
Leaves in 4 rows, spiralled, crowded towards apex of stems or branches, simple, linear, up to 1 m long, 5–8 cm wide, margins recurved, margins and midrib prickly, base sheathing.
Male spikes formed into columns by the fused filaments of the anthers. Female spikes pedunculate, 5–12 cm long. Carpels united into groups of 7–11, forming a hard phalange. Phalanges aggregated onto a thick rachis into an ovoid, infructescence up to 25 cm diam.
Fruit a drupe; seed solitary.
Flowering: ?throughout year.
Distribution and occurrence: Grows on exposed coastal headlands and along beaches; north from Port Macquarie district.
NSW subdivisions: NC, LHI
Other Australian states: Qld
Text by A. K. Brooks
Taxon concept:
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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