Screw pine family
Description
A family of monocotyledonous shrubs, climbers, and tree-like plants, occurring in tropical coastal areas (Pandanaceae 1).
The leaves run in spirals towards the tips of the branches; they are strap-like, leathery, sometimes grass-like, with a spiny margin. The flowers are unisexual, without calyx and corolla, and are borne in cob-like racemes. The male flowers with numerous stamens, the female ones with a superior ovary. The fruit is a berry or drupe, united with the perianth into a globose or cylindrical head.
There are 3 genera.
Use
The genus Pandanus provides edible fruits, leaves and fibres used for thatching and matting, and flowers used in perfumery.
Described species
Pandanus sp., screw pine