Skip to main content

Thatch screwpine (Pandanus tectorius)

Pandan duri or pandan tikar or thatch screwpine (Pandanus tectorius) are species of tree-like plants in Pandanaceae, dioesis, are highly variable in shape and character, have many varieties and some are cultivated for different purposes.

P. tectorius is a wide-branched shrub, 3-7 m high and sometimes has many trunks. Roots and hanging roots have a large size and striking. Ribbon-shaped leaves, 70-250x3-9 cm, stiff, bluish green and waxy, parallel with bones, spines on the edges and underside of the leaf bone.

Dlium Thatch screwpine (Pandanus tectorius) #Dlium @Dlium

The leaves gather tightly at the end of a branch in 3 rows arranged in a spiral with the base hugging the stem to leave a ring-shaped mark. Hanging male flowers, 25-60 cm long, 10-20 side branches, veiled in a white-yellow sheath that smells good. The female flowers are aloof, rounded hump shaped and 5 cm in diameter.

Compound fruit has many variations for shape, size and color. Shapes ranging from ovoid, ellipsoid, almost round and full ball. Length 8-30x4-20 cm on the center line. Phalanges are ovoid inverted to oblong, 2.5-11x1.5-6.7 cm and the skin is green, yellow, orange and red when ripe.

Mesocarp is white, fiber and filled with air at the tip, yellow to orange or red-orange at the base. Ovoid seeds, pushing or oval and 6-20 millimeters long. Often grow in sandy and rocky areas at an altitude of 0-610 m, rainfall 1500-4000 mm/year, adapt in various of soil including quartz sand, coral sand, peat, limestone and basalt.

Pandan duri is tolerant of high salt content and continuous gusts of wind, like the soil with a pH of 6-10. It grows very well in full sun, but can also grow well with a shade of 30-50%.







Different varieties produce different benefits. Generally P. tectorius is cultivated for soft and strong leaves to be woven, others for male flowers that smell nice to scent the room, clothes or perfume. Another variety for delicious fruit.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Pandanales
Family: Pandanaceae
Genus: Pandanus
Species: Pandanus tectorius
Varieties: Pandanus tectorius var. tectorius

Popular Posts

Black potato (Coleus rotundifolius)

Black potato ( Coleus rotundifolius ) is a species of plant in Lamiaceae, herbaceous, fibrous roots and tubers, erect and slightly creeping stems, quadrangular, thick, and slightly odorous. Single leaves, thick, membranous, opposite and alternate. Leaves are oval, dark green and shiny on the upper side, bright green on the lower side. Up to 5 cm long, up to 4 cm wide, slightly hairy and pinnate leaf veins. Leaf stalks up to 4 cm long. Small, purple flowers. Star-shaped petals, lip-shaped crown, dark to light purple with a slightly curved tube shape. Flowering from February-August. Small tubers, brown and white flesh and tuber length 2-4 cm. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Lamiaceae Subfamily: Nepetoideae Tribe: Ocimeae Subtribe: Plectranthinae Genus: Coleus Species: Coleus rotundifolius

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Matchbox bean (Entada phaseoloides)

Matchbox Bean ( Entada phaseoloides ) is a species in the Fabaceae family, a large woody liana with stems up to 18 cm in diameter, dark brown, rough bark, laterally flattened, and spirally twisted. The leaves are bipinnate, up to 25 cm long, with 1-2 pairs of minor leaflets, each divided into 1-2 pairs of pinnules. The pinnules are somewhat leathery, asymmetrical or oblique, up to 10 cm long and 5 cm wide. The inflorescence is a spike-shaped, about 25-30 cm long, bearing numerous sessile flowers. The individual flowers are very small, about 1.2 mm in diameter. The five petals, green with reddish bases, are 3-4 mm long, and the stamens are about 7 mm long. The fruit is a very large, flattened, woody pod or capsule, about 1-1.2 m long and 12 cm wide. It is usually slightly curved and linear, with about 12 segments, each containing a single seed. The seeds are lens-shaped, shiny brown, smooth, 5-6 cm wide and 1-1.5 cm thick. Filipinos used gugo before commercial shampoos were available ...