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Pandanus spiralis
Pandanus spiralis is a small clumping tree from northern Australia, often called screw pine or spring pandanus, though it is neither a pine nor a palm. It is grown in warm, humid, frost-free settings, and the key is warmth, humidity and well-drained soil.
Pandanus spiralis is a small tree in the family Pandanaceae native to northern Australia. It is commonly called pandanus, spring pandanus, screw palm or screw pine, although it is neither a palm nor a pine.
This species occurs in northern Queensland, the Northern Territory and the extreme north of Western Australia. It grows in savannah woodlands and poorly drained areas such as alongside creeks and rivers, the margins of floodplains, and coastal dunes, on various substrates including sand, alluvium and clay.
The leaves of this tree are used to weave various products such as neckbands, armbands, baskets, mats, fish traps and shelters, and the fibre can be stripped out to make string for dillybags and other uses. The trunks are used to build rafts. The plant has a number of medicinal uses including as an antiseptic, analgesic, and to treat dysentery and diarrhoea.. The white stem part of the leaf is pounded to make an anaesthetic for tooth pain. The leaf bases are eaten and the seeds can be eaten raw or roasted, and may be ground to make flour. The fully ripe fruit are used ceremonially because of their scent.
Fragrant Pandan · Pandanus brosimos · Pandanus conoideus · Karuka · Tahitian screwpine · Common screwpine · Screwpine
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Pandanus spiralis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
