Pandanus luzonensis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Pandanus luzonensis Merr.

Family: Pandanaceae

Synonyms

Pandanus calicarpus Martelli.

Vernacular names

• Philippines: alasás (Tagalog, Zambal), dasa (Tagalog).

Distribution

Philippines (Luzon).

Uses

The leaves of P. luzonensis are made into baskets and mats. Decoctions of the tips of fresh or dried prop roots are credited with diuretic properties.

Observations

A dioecious tree, up to 7 m tall, with ventral pleats of leaves prickly denticulate and with solitary heads. Carpellate phalanges ribbed and grooved longitudinally, apex first acuminoid, later truncate, closely crowded with stigmas. P. luzonensis occurs in secondary forest and in thickets along streams, up to 400 m altitude. According to B.C. Stone, P. luzonensis is classified in subgenus Pandanus sensu B.C. Stone, section Athrostigma .

Selected sources

19, 114, 135, 140, 176.

Authors

M. Brink, P.C.M. Jansen & C.H. Bosch