Pandanus

Description

Pandanus polycephalus is a species of Liliopsida described by Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck. Pandanus polycephalus belongs to the genus Pandanus, and the family Pandanaceae.None of these subspecies are listed. Pandanus is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species.They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names include pandan,screw palm, and screw pine.They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae. The genus is named after the Malay word pandan given to Pandanus amaryllifolius, the genus's most commonly known species.This Malay word is ultimately a descendant of Proto-Austronesian *paŋudaN inherited into many other Austronesian languages through expansion such as similarly Tagalog; Chamorro pahong; Manggarai pandang; Malagasy fandrana, Tongan fā; Tahitian fara; Hawaiian hala all referring to plants of similar characteristics whether in the same genus (particularly Pandanus tectorius) or otherwise (in the case of Māori whara or hara; e.g. harakeke). Often called pandanus palms, these plants are not closely related to palm trees. The species vary in size from small shrubs less than 1 m (3.3 ft) tall, to medium-sized trees 20 m (66 ft) tall, typically with a broad canopy, heavy fruit, and moderate growth rate.The trunk is stout, wide-branching, and ringed with many leaf scars. Mature plants can have branches. Depending on the species, the trunk can be smooth, rough, or warty. The roots form a pyramidal tract to hold the trunk. They commonly have many thick stilt roots near the base, which provide support as the tree grows top-heavy with leaves, fruit, and branches.These roots are adventitious and often branched. The top of the plant has one or more crowns of strap-shaped leaves that may be spiny,varying between species from 30 cm (12 in) to 2 m (6.6 ft) or longer, and from 1.5 cm (0.59 in) up to 10 cm (3.9 in) broad.