Pandanus tectorius is a species of Pandanus (screwpine) that is native to Malesia, Papuasia, eastern Australia, and the Pacific Islands. It grows in the coastal lowlands typically near the edge of the ocean. Common names in English include thatch screwpine, Tahitian screwpine, hala tree ( in Hawaiian) and pandanus. The fruit is edible and sometimes known as hala fruit.
Description
P. tectorius is a small tree that grows upright to reach in height. Some varieties have spines along the edges and ribs throughout the leaves.
Fruit
The female P. tectorius trees produce a segmented, large fruit.
Distribution and habitat
Pandanus tectorius grows natively from the Philippines through the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii. It is found in parts of Malesia (the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Java, the Lesser Sunda Islands, the Maluku Islands and the Philippines), throughout Papuasia, and in most of the tropical Pacific. Both the US and the Hawaiian Islands recognize only one indigenous species, P. tectorius.
Pandanus tectorius naturally grows in coastal regions, such as on mangrove margins and beaches, It requires of annual rainfall and seasons will fluctuate from wet to dry.
Pandanus tectorius is considered more drought tolerant than coconut trees. The trees have adapted to drought by reducing fruiting. Thatch Screwpine is well adapted to grow in the many soil types present on coasts, including quartz sand, coral sand, and peat, as well as in limestone and basalt. It prefers to grow in full sunlight, but grows well with 30-50% shade. It will not tolerate shade above 70%. known as the Pandanus planthopper. It has caused much damage to plants on the northern coast of New South Wales, before making its way up the coast to Noosa and the Gold Coast in Queensland in the 1990s. Since then it has infested pandanus further north, killing about 80 per cent of the P. tectorius population to the south of Gladstone, Queensland, and has since reached Yeppoon on the Capricorn Coast, where P. tectorius plays an important part in preventing coastal erosion. and in Byfield National Park Viable keys will float, so it is important to keep them. In Growing native Hawaiian plants: a how-to guide for the gardner, Bornhorst says to remove the fleshy layer of the key and then bury the seed half-way in planting soil. It is important to keep the soil moist. Plants grown from cuttings produce fruit in 4 to 6 years. Other cultivars contain very little to no calcium oxalate and can be eaten raw. It is an important food source in the atolls of Micronesia and Polynesia, with the fruit commonly eaten raw or turned into a dried paste (such as mokwan in the Marshall Islands or te tuae in Kiribati) or flour. It is also one of the traditional foods of Maldivian cuisine. The fibrous nature of the fruit also serves as a natural dental floss. It is also used in Samoan culture as a ula fala, a necklace made out of the dried fruit painted in red and worn by the matai during special occasions and functions.
Australian Aboriginal peoples extracted the slender, edible seeds. This seed, and the fruit, was an important food.
The tree's leaves are often used as flavoring for sweet dishes. It is also used in Sri Lankan cookery, where the leaves are used to flavor a variety of curries. Leaves were used by the Polynesians to make baskets, mats, outrigger canoe sails, thatch roofs, and grass skirts.
The fragrant male flowers are used in perfumery and are also distilled to make kewra.
A large shrub or small tree of immense cultural, health, and economic importance in the Pacific, it is second only to coconut on atolls. It grows wild mainly in semi-natural vegetation in littoral habitats throughout the tropical and subtropical Pacific, where it can withstand drought, strong winds, and salt spray. It propagates readily from seed, but it is also widely propagated from branch cuttings by local people for farms and home gardens. It grows fairly quickly, and all parts are used, from the nutritious fruits of edible varieties to the poles and branches in construction to the leaves for weaving and garlands. The plant is prominent in Pacific culture and tradition, including local medicine.
Hundreds of cultivated varieties are known by their local names and characteristics of fruits, branches, and leaves. At present, there is evidence that this diversity is declining, with certain varieties becoming difficult to find. The reasons include less replanting, deforestation, fire, flagging interest by the new generation, and rapid population growth leading to urbanization.