Srengseng (Benstonea kurzii)

Srengseng (Benstonea kurzii) is a species of plant in the Pandanaceae, shrub, 1-2 meters high, short stems or no trunks, 2 cm in diameter at the lower end, brownish, without spines, mostly or completely lying on the ground or climbing on the stems other plants and without root.

B. kurzii has ribbon-shaped leaves, narrow, 92-150 cm long, 2.5-4.0 cm wide, chartaceous, two linear folds, cross section forming the letter M and a prominent vein on the underside. Thorns along the margins and veins of the lower side.

Compound fruit, almost round to broadly oval, 5.5-8 cm long, 3.5-4.3 cm wide and composed of 168-308 drupe. The fruit is brown, single and erect at the end of the stem.

Srengseng grows at an elevation of 20-1000 meters, in tropical rain forests. The leaves are traditionally woven to make a kind of mat, hood or wrapper for brown sugar.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Pandanales
Family: Pandanaceae
Genus: Benstonea
Species: Benstonea kurzii

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