View source for Pandanus

{{Short description|Genus of palm-like monocot trees and shrubs}}
{{use dmy dates|cs1-dates=ly|date=February 2025}}
{{Distinguish|Pandalus}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Oligocene]]-[[Recent]] {{fossil_range|30|0}}
| image = Pandanus utilis fruit.JPG
| image_caption = Fruit of ''[[Pandanus utilis]]''
| taxon = Pandanus
| authority = [[Sydney Parkinson|Parkinson]]{{R|POWO}}
| synonyms_ref = {{R|POWO}}
| synonyms = 
{{Collapsible list
  |title = 20 synonyms
  |bullets = true
  |''Athrodactylis'' {{small|[[Johann Reinhold Forster|J.R.Forst.]] & [[Georg Forster|G.Forst.]]}}
  |''Barrotia'' {{small|[[Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré|Gaudich.]]}}
  |''Bryantia'' {{small|[[Philip Barker Webb|Webb]] ex Gaudich.}}
  |''Doornia'' {{small|[[Willem Hendrik de Vriese|de Vriese]]}}
  |''Dorystigma'' {{small|Gaudich.}}
  |''Eydouxia'' {{small|Gaudich.}}
  |''Foullioya'' {{small|Gaudich.}}
  |''Hasskarlia'' {{small|[[Wilhelm Gerhard Walpers|Walp.]]}}
  |''Heterostigma'' {{small|Gaudich.}}
  |''Hombronia'' {{small|Gaudich.}}
  |''Jeanneretia'' {{small|Gaudich.}}
  |''Keura'' {{small|[[Peter Forsskål|Forssk.]]}}
  |''Marquartia'' {{small|[[Justus Carl Hasskarl|Hassk.]]}}
  |''Pandanus'' {{small|[[Georg Eberhard Rumphius|Rumph.]] ex [[Carl Linnaeus the Younger|L.f.]]}}
  |''Roussinia'' {{small|Gaudich.}}
  |''Rykia'' {{small|de Vriese}}
  |''Souleyetia'' {{small|Gaudich.}}
  |''Sussea'' {{small|Gaudich.}}
  |''Tuckeya'' {{small|Gaudich.}}
  |''Vinsonia'' {{small|Gaudich.}}
}}
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = See [[List of Pandanus species|List of ''Pandanus'' species]]
}}

'''''Pandanus''''' is a [[genus]] of [[monocot]]s with about 578 accepted [[species]].<ref name="POWO"/> They are palm-like, [[dioecious]] trees and shrubs native to the [[Old World]] tropics and subtropics. Common names include '''pandan''', '''screw palm''' and '''screw pine'''. The genus is classified in the order [[Pandanales]], family [[Pandanaceae]],<ref name="Hyndman">{{cite journal |author=David C. Hyndman |year=1984 |title=Ethnobotany of Wopkaimin ''Pandanus'' significant Papua New Guinea plant resource |journal=[[Economic Botany]] |volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=287–303 |doi=10.1007/BF02859007|s2cid=32883085 }}</ref><ref name="hawaii1">{{cite journal |author=Harold St. John |author-link=Harold St. John |year=1968 |title=Revision of the genus ''Pandanus'' Stickman, part 29. New Papuan species in the section ''Microstigma'' collected by C. E. Carr |journal=[[Pacific Science]] |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=514–519 |hdl=10125/12577 |url=http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/12577/v22n4-514-519.pdf }}</ref> and is the largest in the family.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last1=Stone |first1=B. C. |title=Pandanaceae |date=1998 |work=Flowering Plants · Monocotyledons: Lilianae (except Orchidaceae) |pages=397–404 |editor-last=Kubitzki |editor-first=Klaus |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-662-03533-7_47 |access-date=2025-01-31 |place=Berlin, Heidelberg |publisher=Springer |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-662-03533-7_47 |isbn=978-3-662-03533-7 |last2=Huynh |first2=K.-L. |last3=Poppendieck |first3=H.-H.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

== Description ==
[[File:Pandanus sp.2.jpg|thumb|Aerial, prop roots<ref>{{cite web |title=Types of Roots |publisher=UCLA Mathias Botanical Garden |url=http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/generalbotany/typesofroots/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050906080625/http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/generalbotany/typesofroots/ |archive-date=2005-09-06 |access-date=2005-10-10}}</ref>]]

The species vary in size from small shrubs less than {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=off|frac=2}} tall, to medium-sized trees {{convert|20|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall, typically with a broad canopy, heavy fruit, and moderate growth rate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pandanus Trees in Australia |website=Gondwananet.com |url=http://www.gondwananet.com/pandanus-trees.html |access-date=2012-09-24 |archive-date=2012-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916062012/http://www.gondwananet.com:80/pandanus-trees.html}}<br/>{{webarchive |title=Earlier version |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608191441/http://www.gondwananet.com/pandanus-trees.html |date=2012-06-08}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=June 2024}} The trunk is stout, wide-branching, and ringed with many leaf scars.<ref name="google2">{{cite book |last=Meyen |first=Franz Julius Ferdinand |url={{Google books |id=adE8AAAAYAAJ |page=113 |plainurl=yes }} |title=Outlines of the Geography of Plants: With Particular Enquiries Concerning the Native Country, the Culture, and the Uses of the Principal Cultivated Plants on which the Prosperity of Nations is Based, Volumen 7 |publisher=Ray Society |year=1846 |access-date=2012-09-24}}</ref> Mature plants can have branches.<ref name="google2" /> Depending on the species, the trunk can be smooth, rough, or warty.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pandanus |publisher=Stumpman.com.au |url=http://www.stumpman.com.au/wp-content/uploads/P.tectorius-pandanus.pdf |access-date=18 December 2014 |archive-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129034913/http://www.stumpman.com.au/wp-content/uploads/P.tectorius-pandanus.pdf}}</ref> The roots form a pyramidal tract to hold the trunk.<ref name="wiley1953" /> They commonly have many thick stilt roots near the base, which provide support as the tree grows top-heavy with leaves, fruit, and branches.<ref name="Ugolino Martelli 1908 59–72">{{cite journal |author=Ugolino Martelli |year=1908 |title=The Philippine species of ''Pandanus'' |journal=Philippine Journal of Science |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=59–72 |url=https://archive.org/stream/scphilippinejour03maniuoft#page/58/mode/2up}}</ref> These roots are [[adventitiousness|adventitious]] and often branched. The top of the plant has one or more crowns of strap-shaped leaves that may be spiny,<ref name="Hyndman" /><ref name="hawaii1" /> varying between species from {{convert|30|cm|in|abbr=off}} to {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on|frac=2}} or longer, and from {{convert|1.5|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} up to {{convert|10|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=4}} broad.

They are [[dioecious]], with male and female flowers produced on different plants. The flowers of the male tree are {{convert|2|-|3|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=4}} long and fragrant, surrounded by narrow, white bracts. The female tree produces flowers with round fruits that are also bract-surrounded.  The individual fruit is a [[drupe]], and these merge to varying degrees forming [[multiple fruit]], a globule structure, {{convert|10|-|20|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=2}} in diameter 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. The fruits can stay on the tree for more than 12 months.

== Evolution ==
The oldest fossil of the genus is ''Pandanus estellae'', which is known from a [[silicified]] fruit found in Queensland, Australia, dating to the [[Oligocene]] epoch around 32–28 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rozefelds |first1=Andrew C. |last2=Rudall |first2=Paula J. |last3=Herne |first3=Matt C. |last4=Milroy |first4=Anita K. |last5=Bridgeman |first5=Joe |date=2022-05-01 |title=A Fossil Syncarpous Fruit from Australia Provides Support for a Gondwanan History for the Screw Pines (Pandanus, Pandanaceae) |journal=International Journal of Plant Sciences |language=en |volume=183 |issue=4 |pages=320–329 |doi=10.1086/719431 |issn=1058-5893 |s2cid=247378720}}</ref> Phylogenetic analyses of the maternal DNA of ''Pandanus'' has shown the genus to be divided into two large groups (Clade I and Clade II), with each of those groups further subdivided into two smaller groups (Subclade Ia, Subclade Ib, Subclade IIa, and Subclade IIb).<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Buerki |first1=Sven |last2=Callmander |first2=Martin W. |last3=Devey |first3=Dion S. |last4=Chappell |first4=Lauren |last5=Gallaher |first5=Timothy |last6=Munzinger |first6=Jérôme |last7=Haevermans |first7=Thomas |last8=Forest |first8=Félix |date=2012 |title=Straightening out the screwpines: A first step in understanding phylogenetic relationships within Pandanaceae |journal=Taxon |language=en |volume=61 |issue=5 |pages=1010–1020 |doi=10.1002/tax.615008 |issn=1996-8175}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Wojahn |first1=John M. A. |last2=Callmander |first2=Martin W. |last3=Buerki |first3=Sven |date=30 January 2025 |title=Pandanus plastomes decoded: When climate mirrors morphology and phylogenetic relationships |journal=American Journal of Botany |language=en |volume= |issue=preprint |pages=e16461 |doi=10.1002/ajb2.16461 |pmid=39887358 |issn=1537-2197}}</ref> The split between Clades I and II was determined to have occurred during the early [[Miocene]], whereas the splits between Subclade Ia and Ib and between Subclade IIa and IIb were determined to have occurred during the [[Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum]].<ref name=":2" />

== Taxonomy ==
Though often called "pandanus palms", these plants are not closely related to palm trees. The genus is named after the [[Malay language|Malay]] word ''pandan'' given to ''[[Pandanus amaryllifolius]],'' the genus's most commonly known species.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Christenhusz|first1=Maarten J. M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LLo7DwAAQBAJ&dq=pandanus+pandan+name+genus&pg=PA140|title=Plants of the World: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Vascular Plants|last2=Fay|first2=Michael F.|last3=Chase|first3=Mark W.|date=2017|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-52292-0|page=140|language=en}}</ref> The name is derived from [[Proto-Austronesian]] [[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Austronesian/paŋudaN|*paŋudaN]] (which became [[Proto-Malayo-Polynesian]] *pangdan and [[Proto-Oceanic]] *padran). It has many cognates in [[Austronesian languages]], underscoring its importance in [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] cultures, including [[Atayal language|Atayal]] ''pangran''; [[Kavalan language|Kavalan]] ''pangzan''; [[Thao language|Thao]] ''panadan''; [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] ''pandan''; [[Chamorro language|Chamorro]] ''pahong''; [[Manggarai language|Manggarai]] ''pandang''; [[Malagasy language|Malagasy]] ''fandrana,'' [[Tongan language|Tongan]] ''fā''; [[Tahitian language|Tahitian]] ''fara''; [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] ''hala'' all referring to plants of similar characteristics and/or uses whether in the same genus (particularly ''[[Pandanus tectorius]]'') or otherwise (in the case of [[Māori language|Māori]] ''whara'' or ''hara;'' e.g. [[Phormium tenax|hara''keke'']]).<ref name="Wolff2018">{{cite book|last1=Wolff|first1=John U.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KSZzDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA927|title=Proto-Austronesian Phonology with Glossary|publisher=Cornell Southeast Asia Program Publications|year=2018|isbn=978-1-5017-3599-8|volume=II|page=927}}</ref><ref name="temarareo">{{cite web|series=The Evolution of Plant Names|url=http://www.temarareo.org/PPN-Fara.html|access-date=15 January 2019|title=Proto-Polynesian Etymologies: *Fara|work=Te Mära Reo: The Language Garden|publisher=Benton Family Trust}}</ref> ''Pandanus'' is traditionally divided into six [[Subgenus|subgenera]] (''Coronata'', ''Kurzia'', ''Lophostigma'', ''Pandanus,'' ''Rykia,'' and ''Vinsonia''), however [[Molecular phylogenetics|molecular phylogenetic]] analyses have shown these subgenera to not represent the true evolutionary history of ''Pandanus'' as all but ''Coronata'' are either [[Polyphyly|polyphyletic]] or [[Paraphyly|paraphyletic]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />

=== Selected species ===
{{Main|List of Pandanus species}}
[[File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - L.0939605 - Aken, J. van - Pandanus repens - Artwork.jpeg|thumb|upright|''[[Pandanus repens]]'']]
[[File:Pandanus simplex is karagumoy.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Pandanus simplex]]'']]
'''Note:''' several species previously placed in ''Pandanus'' subgenera ''Acrostigma'' and ''Martellidendron'' are now in the distinct genera ''[[Benstonea]]'' and ''[[Martellidendron]]'', respectively.<ref name=":1" />

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}<!-- Please do not put redlinks in this list.  No synonyms either. -->
*''[[Pandanus aldabraensis]]'' <small>[[Harold St. John|H.St.John]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus amaryllifolius]]'' <small>[[William Roxburgh|Roxb.]] ex [[John Lindley|Lindl.]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus balfourii]]'' <small>[[Ugolino Martelli|Martelli]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus barkleyi]]'' <small>[[Isaac Bayley Balfour|Balf.f.]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus boninensis]]'' <small>[[Otto Warburg (botanist)|Warb.]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus candelabrum]]'' <small>[[Palisot de Beauvois|P.Beauv.]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus carmichaelii]]'' <small>[[Reginald Edward Vaughan|R.E.Vaughan]] & [[Paul Octave Wiehe|Wiehe]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus ceylanicus]]'' <small>[[Hermann zu Solms-Laubach|Solms]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus christmatensis]]'' <small>Martelli</small>
*''[[Pandanus clandestinus]]'' <small>[[Robert J. Stone|Stone]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus conglomeratus]]'' <small>Balf.f.</small>
*''[[Pandanus conoideus]]'' <small>[[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck|Lam.]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus decastigma]]'' <small>[[Benjamin Clemens Stone|B.C.Stone]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus decipiens]]'' <small>Martelli</small>
*''[[Pandanus decumbens]]'' <small>Solms</small>
*''[[Pandanus drupaceus]]'' <small>[[Thouars]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus elatus]]'' <small>[[Henry Nicholas Ridley|Ridl.]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus eydouxia]]'' <small>Balf.f.</small>
*''[[Pandanus fanningensis]]'' <small>H.St.John</small>
*''[[Pandanus forsteri]]'' <small>[[Charles Moore (botanist)|C.Moore]] & [[Ferdinand von Mueller|F.Muell.]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus furcatus]]'' <small>Roxb.</small>
*''[[Pandanus gabonensis]]'' <small>[[Kim-Lang Huynh|Huynh]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus glaucocephalus]]'' <small>R.E.Vaughan & Wiehe</small>
*''[[Pandanus grayorum]]'' {{small|[[Martin Wilhelm Callmander|Calim.]], [[Sven Buerki|Buerki]] & [[Timothy Gallaher|Gallaher]]}}
*''[[Pandanus halleorum]]'' <small>B.C.Stone</small>
*''[[Pandanus heterocarpus]]'' <small>Balf.f.</small>
*''[[Pandanus iceryi]]'' <small>[[John Horne (botanist)|Horne]] ex Balf.f.</small>
*''[[Pandanus incertus]]'' <small>R.E.Vaughan & Wiehe</small>
*''[[Pandanus joskei]]'' <small>Horne ex Balf.f.</small>
*''[[Pandanus julianettii]]'' <small>Martelli</small>
*''[[Pandanus kaida]]'' <small>[[Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz|Kurz]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus kajui]]'' <small>[[Henk Jaap Beentje|Beentje]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus lacuum]]'' <small>H.St.John ex B.C.Stone</small>
*''[[Pandanus laxespicatus]]'' <small>Martelli</small>
*''[[Pandanus livingstonianus]]'' <small>[[Alfred Barton Rendle|Rendle]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus leram]]'' {{small|Jones ex R.Millar}}
*''[[Pandanus microcarpus]]'' <small>Balf.f.</small>
*''[[Pandanus montanus]]'' <small>[[Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent|Bory]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus multispicatus]]'' <small>Balf.f.</small>
*''[[Pandanus odorifer]]'' <small>([[Peter Forsskål|Forssk.]]) [[Otto Kuntze|Kuntze]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus obeliscus]]'' {{small|Thouars}}
*''[[Pandanus palustris]]'' <small>Thouars</small>
*''[[Pandanus parvicentralis]]'' <small>Huynh</small>
*''[[Pandanus prostratus]]'' <small>Balf.f.</small>
*''[[Pandanus pyramidalis]]'' <small>[[Henry Barkly|Barkly]] ex Balf.f.</small>
*''[[Pandanus rigidifolius]]'' <small>R.E.Vaughan & Wiehe</small>
*''[[Pandanus sechellarum]]'' <small>Balf.f.</small>
*''[[Pandanus spathulatus]]'' <small>Martelli</small>
*''[[Pandanus spiralis]]'' <small>[[Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)|R.Br.]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus tectorius]]'' <small>[[Sydney Parkinson|Parkinson]] ex [[Du Roi]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus tenuifolius]]'' <small>Balf.f.</small>
*''[[Pandanus teuszii]]'' <small>Warb.</small>
*''[[Pandanus thomensis]]'' <small>[[Julio Augusto Henriques|Henriq.]]</small>
*''[[Pandanus tonkinensis]]'' <small>B.C.Stone</small>
*''[[Pandanus utilis]]'' <small>Bory</small>
*''[[Pandanus vandermeeschii]]'' <small>Balf.f.</small>
*''[[Pandanus verecundus]]'' <small>Stone</small>
{{div col end}}

==Distribution and habitat==
''Pandanus'' is a [[Paleotropical kingdom|Paleotropical]] genus.<ref name=":0" /> The greatest number of species are found in [[Madagascar]] and [[Malaysia]].<ref name="warren">{{cite book |last1=Wagner |first1=Warren L. |title=Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai{{okina}}i |last2=Herbst |first2=Derral R. |last3=Sohmer |first3=S. H. |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |year=1990 |isbn=0-8248-1152-6}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=June 2024 |reason=This book contains nearly 2000 pages!}}

==Ecology==
These plants grow from sea level to an altitude of {{convert|3300|m|abbr=on}}. Pandanus trees are of cultural, health, and economic importance in the Pacific, second only to the coconut on atolls.<ref name="agroforestry1">{{cite web|url=http://www.agroforestry.net/tti/P.tectorius-pandanus.pdf |title=Pandanus tectorius (pandanus) |website=Agroforestry.net |access-date=2012-09-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/pandanus |title=pandanus - definition of pandanus by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia |publisher=Thefreedictionary.com |access-date=2012-09-24}}</ref> They grow wild mainly in semi-natural vegetation in littoral habitats throughout the tropical and subtropical Pacific, where they can withstand drought, strong winds, and salt spray. They propagate readily from seed, but popular cultivars are also widely propagated from branch cuttings by local people.<ref name="Hyndman"/>

Species growing on exposed coastal headlands and along beaches have thick 'stilt roots' as anchors in the loose sand.<ref name="Hyndman"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/forestry/6843-07d9a941381eb5e556c4ead52e20bd418.pdf |title=Microsoft Word - 5-Seychelles formaté_RM.doc |website=Fao.org|access-date=2012-09-24}}</ref> Those stilt roots emerge from the stem, usually close to but above the ground, which helps to keep the plants upright and secure them to the ground.<ref name="Ugolino Martelli 1908 59–72"/>

While ''Pandanus'' are distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical islands and coastlines of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://epubs.scu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1670&context=esm_pubs|title=The mangrove vegetation of the Atlantic Coast of Africa: a review|publisher=Epubs.scu.edu.au|access-date=18 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="Palomar">{{cite web|url=http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pldec398.htm|title=Drift Seeds And Drift Fruits: Seeds That Ride The Ocean Currents|publisher=Waynesword.palomar.edu|access-date=18 December 2014|archive-date=14 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214123258/http://waynesword.palomar.edu/pldec398.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/9080/vol15n3-328-346.pdf?sequence=1|format=PDF|title=Revision of the Genus Pandanus Stickman, Part 5 Pandanus of the Maldive Islands and the Seychelles Islands, Indian Ocean|publisher=Scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu|access-date=18 December 2014}}</ref> they are most numerous on the low islands and barren atolls of Polynesia and Micronesia.<ref name="google1">{{cite book|url={{Google books |id=1cdGlgnm4mwC |page=1500 |plainurl=yes }} |title=Los árboles y arbustos de la Península Ibérica e Islas Baleares: especies silvestres y las principales cultivadas |first=Ginés A. |last=López González |publisher=Mundi-Prensa |year=2006 |access-date=2012-09-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url={{Google books |id=XQxHAQAAIAAJ |page=346 |plainurl=yes }} |title=Semanario pintoresco espańol |author=Ramón de Mesonero Romanos |author2=Gervasio Gironella |author3=Vicente Castelló |author4=[[Angel Fernández de los Ríos]] |author5=Francisco Navarro Villoslada |author6=Manuel de Assas y de Ereńo |author7=José Muńos Maldonado |author8=Eduardo Gasset y Artime |year=1852 |access-date=2012-09-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url={{Google books |id=POFfj8nywr4C |plainurl=yes }} |title=Lecciones de historia natural: Botánica |author=D. Agustín Yañez y Girona |publisher=Impr. de Benito Espona y Blay |date=1845 |access-date=2016-10-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Benjamin C. Stone |year=1992 |title=The New Guinea species of ''Pandanus'' section ''Maysops'' St. Johns (Pandanaceae) |journal=[[Blumea (journal)|Blumea]] |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=31–61}}</ref> Other species are adapted to mountain habitats and riverine forests.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~cline/papua/mines.htm |title=West Papua - Mining |publisher=Cs.utexas.edu |access-date=2012-09-24}}</ref>

The tree is grown and propagated from shoots that form spontaneously in the axils of lower leaves. Pandanus fruits are eaten by animals including bats, rats, crabs, and elephants, but the vast majority of species are dispersed primarily by water.<ref name="wiley1953">{{cite journal |author=Reginald Edward Vaughan |author2=P. O. Wiehe |year=1953 |title=The genus ''Pandanus'' in the Mascarene Islands |journal=[[Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Botany]] |volume=55 |issue=356 |pages=1–33 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.1953.tb00001.x}}</ref> Its fruit can float and spread to other islands without help from humans.<ref name="Palomar"/>

[[Climate]] and [[soil]] analyses based on a molecular phylogenetic framework have shown that the largest split in ''Pandanus'' (between Clades I and II) is also associated with a difference in climate and soil conditions between the two groups.<ref name=":2" /> Clade II ''Pandanus'' species are associated with more [[Season|seasonal]] [[temperature]] and [[precipitation]] regimes, and more well-draining soils, than Clade I ''Pandanus'' species.<ref name=":2" /> In addition, this split is also associated with the occurrence of specialized layer of water storage [[Plant tissue|tissue]] (also known as hydrenchyma) in Clade II species of ''Pandanus'' that is thought to aid in their [[adaptation]] to more [[Water scarcity|water-stressed]] environments.<ref name=":2" />

==Uses==
''Pandanus'' has multiple uses, which is dependent in part on each type and location. Some ''Pandanus'' are a source of food, while others provide raw material for clothing, basket weaving and shelter. 

''Pandanus'' leaves are used for handicrafts. Artisans collect the leaves from plants in the wild, cutting only mature leaves so that the plant will naturally regenerate. The leaves are sliced into fine strips and sorted for further processing. Weavers produce basic pandan mats of standard size or roll the leaves into pandan ropes for other designs. This is followed by a coloring process, in which pandan mats are placed in drums with water-based colors. After drying, the colored mats are shaped into final products, such as placemats or jewelry boxes. Final color touch-ups may be applied. The species in Hawaiʻi are called ''hala'', and only the dry leaves ''(lauhala)'' are collected and used for [[Lauhala]] weaving. Traditions of weaving pandanus to source fabric material were widespread among [[Polynesians]] even as they migrated reaching colder latitudes (like the islands of New Zealand) where no pandanus grew, which later Māori generations simply adapted their [[Māori traditional textiles|skills]] with native plants like ''[[Phormium]]'' having superficially similar properties, even reflected in their names (e.g. the aforementioned ''[[Phormium tenax|harakeke]]'', and ''[[Phormium colensoi|wharariki]]'').<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harris |first1=W. |last2=Heenan |first2=P.B. |title=Domestication of the New Zealand flora—an alternative view |journal=New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science |date=July 1992 |volume=20 |issue=3 |page=262 |doi=10.1080/01140671.1992.10421767}}</ref>

''Pandanus'' leaves from ''[[Pandanus amaryllifolius]]'' are used widely in Southeast Asian and South Asian cuisines to add a distinct aroma to various dishes and to complement flavors like chocolate. Because of their similarity in usage, pandan leaves are sometimes referred to as the "vanilla of Asia."<ref>{{cite web |title=How to Cook With Pandan, the Vanilla of Southeast Asia |url=https://www.saveur.com/how-to-cook-with-pandan-recipes |website=Saveur|date=10 March 2017 |access-date=28 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Discover Pandan Leaves, The Vanilla Of Southeast Asia|url=https://asianinspirations.com.au/in-the-kitchen/discover-pandan-leaves-the-vanilla-of-southeast-asia|website=Asian Inspirations|access-date=28 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429025206/https://asianinspirations.com.au/in-the-kitchen/discover-pandan-leaves-the-vanilla-of-southeast-asia|archive-date=29 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Wan|first1=Yan Ling |date=10 August 2018|title=Grocery Ninja: Pandan, the Asian Vanilla |website=SeriousEats |url=https://www.seriouseats.com/pandan-the-asian-vanilla|access-date=2025-02-01}}</ref> Fresh leaves are typically torn into strips, tied in a knot to facilitate removal, placed in the cooking liquid, then removed at the end of cooking. Dried leaves and bottled extract may be bought in some places. Finely sliced pandan leaves are used as fragrant confetti for Malay weddings, graves etc.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

Pandan leaves are known as ''Daun pandan'' in Indonesian and Malaysian Malay<!-- Do not treat "Malay" and "Indonesian" as separate linguistically, see Nothofer, Bernd (2009). "Malay". In Brown, Keith; Ogilvie, Sarah (eds.). Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World p. 678 -->; ''Dahon ng pandan'' ({{lit|pandan leaf}}) or simply ''pandan'' in Filipino; 斑蘭 (''bān lán'') in Mandarin; as ใบเตย (''bai toei''; {{IPA|th|bāj.tɤ̄ːj|pron}}) in Thai, ''lá dứa'' in Vietnamese; ''pulao data'' in Bengali; and ''rampe'' in Sinhalese and Hindi.

In India, particularly in Nicobar Islands, pandanus fruit is staple food of [[Shompen people]] and [[Nicobarese people]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-10-31 |title=The less known Shompens of Great Nicobar Island |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kolkata/shompens-men-outnumber-women/article7827582.ece |access-date=2022-11-29 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

In Sri Lanka, pandan leaves are used heavily in both vegetable and meat dishes and are often grown in homes. It is common practice to add a few pieces of pandan leaf when cooking red or white rice as well.

In Southeast Asia, pandan leaves are mainly used in sweets such as [[coconut jam]] and [[pandan (cake)|pandan cake]]. In Indonesia and Malaysia, pandan is also added to rice and curry dishes such as ''[[nasi lemak]]''. In the Philippines, pandan leaves are commonly paired with coconut meat (a combination referred to as ''buko pandan'') in various desserts and drinks like ''[[maja blanca]]'' and ''[[gulaman]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Buko Pandan|url=https://www.aboutfilipinofood.com/buko-pandan/|website=About Filipino Food|access-date=28 April 2018|date=2016-11-30}}</ref>

In Indian cooking, the leaf is added whole to [[biryani]], a kind of rice [[pilaf]], made with ordinary rice (as opposed to that made with the premium-grade [[basmati]] rice). The basis for this use is that both basmati and pandan leaf contains the same aromatic flavoring ingredient, [[2-Acetyl-1-pyrroline|2-acetyl-1-pyrroline]]. In [[Sri Lanka]], pandan leaves are a major ingredient used in the country's cuisine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kurma.net/glossary/g5.html|title=Cooking With Kurma - Glossary|website=kurma.net}}</ref>

''[[Kewra]]'' (also spelled ''Kevda'' or ''Kevada'') is an extract distilled from the pandan flower, used to flavor drinks and desserts in Indian cuisine. Also, ''kewra'' or ''kevada'' is used in religious worship, and the leaves are used to make hair ornaments worn for their fragrance as well as decorative purpose in western India.<ref name="google1"/>

Species with large and medium fruit are edible, notably the many cultivated forms of ''[[Pandanus tectorius|P.&nbsp;tectorius]]'' (''P.&nbsp;pulposus'') and ''[[Pandanus utilis|P.&nbsp;utilis]]''. The ripe fruit can be eaten raw or cooked,<ref name=Miller>{{cite journal |author1=Miller, C.D. |author2=Murai, M. |author3=Pen, F. |year=1956 |title=The Use of Pandanus Fruit As Food in Micronesia |journal=Pacific Science |volume=10 |url=http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/8178/v10n1-3-16?sequence=1 |access-date=2014-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004202432/http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/8178/v10n1-3-16?sequence=1 |archive-date=2015-10-04}}</ref> while partly ripe fruit should be cooked first.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants |publisher=[[Skyhorse Publishing]] |author=[[United States Department of the Army]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-60239-692-0 |location=New York |page=91 |language=en-US |oclc=277203364}}</ref> Small-fruited pandanus may be bitter and astringent.<ref name=Miller/>

[[Karuka]] nuts (''P. julianettii'') are an important staple food in New Guinea.<ref name="Lim">{{cite book |last1=Lim |first1=Tong Kwee |title=Edible Medicinal and Non-Medicinal Plants |date=2012 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-94-007-4053-2 |pages=128–130 |doi=10.1007/978-94-007-4053-2_17 |language=en |chapter=Pandanus julianettii |volume=4 |oclc=822591349}}</ref> Over 45 cultivated varieties are known.<ref name="Stilltoe">{{cite book |last1=Stilltoe |first1=Paul |title=Roots of the Earth: Crops in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea |date=1983 |publisher=Manchester university Press |location=Manchester, UK |isbn=978-0-7190-0874-0 |language=en |oclc=9556314 |lccn=82-62247}}</ref> Entire households will move,<ref name="Bourke88">{{cite book |last1=Bourke |first1=Richard Michael |title=Taim hangre: variation in subsistence food supply in the Papua New Guinea highlands |date=May 1988 |publisher=Australian National University |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320345192 |oclc=224338489 |access-date=27 September 2018 |language=en |format=PDF}}</ref> and in some areas will speak a [[pandanus language]] at harvest time.<ref name="Franklin">{{cite journal |last1=Franklin |first1=Karl J. |title=A Ritual Pandanus Language of New Guinea |journal=Oceania |date=September 1972 |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=66–76 |doi=10.1002/j.1834-4461.1972.tb01197.x |language=en |oclc=883021898}}</ref><ref name="Stefaniw">{{cite book |last1=Franklin |first1=Karl J. |last2=Stefaniw |first2=Roman |editor1-last=Dutton |editor1-first=Tom |title=Culture change, language change - case studies from Melanesia |date=1992 |publisher=Department of Linguistics Research School of Pacific Studies THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY |location=Canberra |isbn=978-0-85883-411-8 |issn=0078-7558 |pages=1–6 |chapter-url=https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/145785/1/PL-C120.pdf |access-date=25 October 2018 |language=en |chapter=The 'Pandanus Languages' of the Southern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea - a further report |series=Pacific Linguistics |oclc=260177442 |doi=10.15144/PL-C120.1}}</ref>  The taste is like coconut<ref name="Lim"/><ref name="Stilltoe" /><ref name="Zebua">{{cite journal |last1=Zebua |first1=Lisye Iriana |last2=Purnamasari |first2=Vita |title=Oil of Pandan Kelapa Hutan (''Pandanus jiulianettii'' Martelli): Physicochemical Properties, Total Phenols, Total Carotene, Vitamin E and Antioxidant Activity |journal=Jurnal Biologi Udayana |date=26 January 2018 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=71–77 |doi=10.24843/JBIOUNUD.2017.vol21.i02.p05 |url=https://ojs.unud.ac.id/index.php/BIO/article/view/37101 |access-date=20 October 2018 |language=en |format=PDF |issn=2599-2856 |oclc=7347063503|doi-access=free }}</ref> or walnuts.<ref name="Purwanto">{{cite journal |last1=Purwanto |first1=Y. |last2=Munawaroh |first2=Esti |title=Etnobotani Jenis-Jenis Pandanaceae Sebagai Bahan Pangan di Indonesia |journal=Berkala Penelitian Hayati |date=2010 |volume=5A |pages=97–108 |doi=10.5072/FK2/Z6P0OQ |url=https://rin.lipi.go.id/file.xhtml;jsessionid=ccb24f0a337710227d6d5cecae10?fileId=1258&version=RELEASED&version=.1 |access-date=25 October 2018 |trans-title=Ethnobotany Types of Pandanaceae as Foodstuffs in Indonesia |language=id |format=PDF |issn=2337-389X |oclc=981032990 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029232426/https://rin.lipi.go.id/file.xhtml;jsessionid=ccb24f0a337710227d6d5cecae10?fileId=1258&version=RELEASED&version=.1 |archive-date=29 October 2018}}</ref>

Throughout [[Oceania]], almost every part of the plant is used, with various species different from those used in Southeast Asian cooking. ''Pandanus'' trees provide materials for housing; clothing and textiles including the manufacture of [[Dillybag|dilly bags]] (carrying bags), fine mats or ''[[{{okina}}ie toga]]''; sails,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McCoy |first1=Michael |year=1973 |url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/document/Volume_82_1973/Volume_82%2C_No._4/A_renaissance_in_Carolinian-Marianas_voyaging%2C_by_Michael_McCoy%2C_p_355-365/p1?page=0&action=searchresult&target= |title=A Renaissance in Carolinian-Marianas Voyaging |journal=[[Journal of the Polynesian Society]] |quote=As of 1973, all canoes on [[Satawal]] were using [[dacron]] sails sewn by the men themselves. Most Carolinian canoes had used canvas acquired during the Japanese presence in the islands. The people of Satawal, however, were reluctant to switch from the cumbersome pandanus-mat sails, probably because canoes and voyaging were included in the elaborate pre-Christian taboo system. Christianity took hold on Satawal during the decades after World War II, and the Islanders then used canvas. When I and Gary Mount, as Peace Corps volunteers, demonstrated the obvious superiority of dacron over the canvas with only a 4-inch square sample, the men agreed to purchase sails for the canoes of the island. As word of the superiority of dacron spread, the people of [[Ifalik]], [[Elato]], [[Woleai]], [[Pulusuk]], [[Pulap]], and [[Puluwat]] have equipped at least one canoe on each island with dacron.}}</ref> food, medication,{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} decorations, fishing, and religious uses. In the Vanuatu Archipelago, natives make woven fish traps from the hard interior root of the pandanus, made like a cage having a narrow entrance.<ref>SLICE documentary, {{YouTube|CCf_gwRyhjQ|The men of the big rock {{!}} SLICE {{!}} Full documentary}}, The Isle of [[Futuna Island, Vanuatu|Futuna]] / April 2022, minutes 18:39–ff.</ref>

{{gallery|mode=packed
|Südseeabteilung in Ethnological Museum Berlin 134.JPG|[[Crab claw sail]] woven from pandan leaves on a ''[[tepukei]]'', an ocean-going [[outrigger canoe]] from [[Temotu Province|Temotu]], [[Solomon Islands]]
|Kinab-anan Farm basket.jpg|A ''bayong'', a traditional [[Philippines|Philippine]] basket woven from karagumoy (''P.&nbsp;simplex'') leaves in the hexagonal ''kinab-anan'' pattern
|Sifon pandan.JPG|[[Pandan cake]] flavoured with pandan leaf extract
|Sama woman making a traditional mat.JPG|A [[Sama-Bajau|Sama]] woman making a traditional mat (''tepoh'') from pandan leaves in [[Semporna District|Semporna]], [[Sabah]], Malaysia
}}

==See also==
*{{Annotated link|Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia}}
*{{Annotated link|Wa (watercraft)|''Wa''}} – vessels of the [[Caroline Islands]] which traditionally had pandanus mat sails
*{{Annotated link|Screw pine craft of Kerala}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="POWO">{{cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:31599-1 |title=''Pandanus'' Parkinson |website=[[Plants of the World Online]] |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] |access-date=18 June 2024}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20150924124125/http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?8790 Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Pandanus'']
*[http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Pandanus.html Sorting ''Pandanus'' names]
*Wagner, W. L., Herbst, D. R., & Sohmer, S. H. (1990). ''Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaiʻi''.
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160219084252/http://davekimble.net/rainforest/pandanus.htm Pandanus species of the Wet Tropics of Queensland, Australia ]}} photos and text by Dave Kimble
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20160218173545/http://davekimble.net/rainforest/pneumatophore.htm Pneumatophores on ''Pandanus solms-laubachii'']}} - photo essay
* [http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/photo717429.htm Northernmost pandanus in the world,  in the Azores Islands, photo].
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Df1HYtTPv4 Pandanus simplex fruit eaten by Varanus olivaceus, Polillo Island, Philippines. ]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110129153859/http://www.mauimagazine.net/Maui-Magazine/January-February-2011/Hala-The-Hawaiian-Aphrodisiac/ "Hala: The Hawaiian Aphrodisiac"] Article by Shannon Wianecki describing Hawaiian cultural uses for pandanus. ''[[Maui No Ka 'Oi Magazine]]'' Volume 15 Number. 1 (Jan 2011).

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|pandanus}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Pandanus|''Pandanus''}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090806102758/http://www3.ntu.edu.sg/eee/urop/congress2003/Proceedings/abstract/NUS_FoS/TDP%20USP/Li%20Jingmei.pdf Biological Analytics of Pandan]

{{Nuts}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q471914}}
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[[Category:Pandanus| ]]
[[Category:Pandanales genera]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants]]