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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Pandanus Parkinson'' (PROSEA)}}<big>''[[Pandanus Parkinson]]'' Parkinson</big>

* ''[[Pandanus brosimos]]'' Merr. & Perry, Journ. Arn. Arb. 21: 171 (1940).

''[[Pandanus conoideus]]'' Lamk, Encycl.1: 372 (1785) excl. var. B, synonym:* ''P. butyrophorus'' Kurz (1869).  ''[[Pandanus leram]]'' Jones ex Fontana, J. Asiat. Res. 3: 163 (1792),  synonyms: *''P. mellori'' Roxb. (1814), *''Roussinia indica'' Gaudich. (1843), *''P. fosbergii'' St John (1961).

*General: *pandanus, pandan, screwpine (En). *South-East Asia: pandan.

* ''P. brosimos'' : *Papua New Guinea: karuka (Pidgin). There are numerous cultivar names.

* ''P. conoideus'' : *Indonesia: pandan seran (Moluccas), saun (Seram), sihu (Halmahera)

* ''P.leram'' : *Nicobar breadfruit (En)

The genus ''Pandanus'' , with about 600 species, is found from West Africa eastward to Madagascar, the Indian Ocean islands, India and most of warmer South-East Asia, throughout Malesia into the Pacific where it reaches the northern outpost of Hawaii, the eastern and southern outposts of Pitcairn and Henderson Islands. Many endemic species exist. Pandanus cultivars are primarily non-commercial or tribal and village plants, though they may enter the economy at a very local level. In some localities pandan cultivars are old components of traditional agriculture. The cultivars of Pandanus form several distinct groups based on different species or species-complexes. ''P. brosimos'' occurs in the New Guinea highlands, mostly cultivated or retained in cleared forest. ''P. conoideus'' is a New Guinea-Moluccan crop and is unknown elsewhere in Malesia and the Pacific. ''P. leram'' is primarily a species of the Nicobar, Andaman and Maldive Islands, but is also found sparsely in Java and Sumatra.

*Edible flesh (pericarp). This category encompasses two quite different groups of pandans: species with oily pericarp, and those with pericarp mainly consisting of carbohydrates. The first group consists chiefly of ''P. conoideus'' , with a few rather dubious related species ( ''P. englerianus'' Martelli, ''P. magnificus'' Martelli). They are confined to Melanesia, primarily to New Guinea, but also extend slightly west into the Moluccas. They are generally known as "marita". The edible pericarp is mostly red (or yellow in some forms) and noticeably oily. The second group consists mainly of ''P. tectorius'' Parkinson, from which the principal edible species ''P. fischerianus'' Martelli has developed; the latter is cultivated but not found in Malesia. ''P. leram'' also belongs to this group. The wild forms of ''P. tectorius'' can be used by cooking and straining the pericarp of the ripe fruits, but are scarcely sweet. They contain large amounts of calcium-oxalate crystals (raphides and rhomboids) which irritate the mouth unless broken down by heating. In the better cultivars in Micronesia, the carbohydrate content includes a fair amount of sugar, and the raphides content is much reduced so that the fruit can even be eaten raw in some forms. Amongst aboriginal tribes some other pandans may be used occasionally for their edible pericarp; such usage is reported for ''P. houlettei'' Ridley in Peninsular Malaysia. The ripe fruits often have a strong fragrance somewhat resembling overripe pineapple.

The commercial uses of pandans appear to be largely limited to textiles made from leaf fibres ( ''P. dubius'', ''P. kaida'' Kurz, ''P. odoratissimus'' L.f., ''P. tectorius'' ), the various products such as bags, hats, pocketbooks, mats etc. being marketed mostly by villages or tourist shops. Perfume and beverages from the staminate inflorescences of ''P. odoratissimus'' are produced industrially in India. In New Guinea karuka and marita fruits are traded chiefly by barter, but occasionally for cash.

Pericarp flesh of ''P. tectorius'' contains per 100 g edible portion: water 80 g, protein 0.4 g, fat 0.3 g, carbohydrates 19 g, fibre 0.3 g. No data are available for marita. Oven-dried seeds of karuka ( ''P. brosimos'' ) contain per 100 g edible portion: water 6-10 g, protein 8.5-14 g, fat 0.4-37 g, fibre 5-12 g, the remainder consisting of ash and carbohydrates.

*Evergreen, woody plants with an erect to decumbent stem, usually forming rigid prop roots from (defoliated) leaf axils; often branched in a trichotomous or dichotomous pattern; stems often knobbly or prickly, with manifest leaf scars; bark thin, often green just below the epidermis. *Leaves spiralled in three series, linear and undivided, usually M-shaped in cross-section, usually with prickles along the margins and the underside of the midrib; in some species leaf apex on the upper surface with two sharp pleats, one each side of the midrib, these pleats sometimes prickly (prickles present or absent on strict species basis); longitudinal veins numerous, parallel; leaves often somewhat pale, sometimes very glaucous beneath; sometimes variegated with achlorophyllous bands (mutant forms often perpetuated as horticultural forms); some mutant forms with unarmed leaves.*Plants strictly unisexual.*Staminate inflorescences ephemeral, bracteate, usually spicate; spikes consisting of perianthless flowers, each flower a cluster of stamens; pollen mostly white to yellowish, often scented; staminate bracts mostly white to cream or yellow, sometimes orange to purplish; inflorescence depleted of pollen and decaying within 3-4 days.*Pistillate inflorescence either a globose to cylindric head, or a spike of such heads; upper bracts early caducous; each head consisting of either massed unilocular carpels ripening as drupes or of 2 to many-celled massed carpels (the stone of each ripened carpel containing 2 to many seed chambers); styles none; stigmas always distinct on the apex of each carpel.*Fruit syncarpous, ripening to yellow, orange, red, or occasionally purplish-red, the exocarp of each carpel firm to fleshy; mesocarp toward the base always fibrous; endocarp bony.*Seeds endospermous, always retained within the thin to massively thick bony endocarp.

Plants strictly unisexual''P. Staminate inflorescences ephemeralbrosimos'' :*Erect tree, bracteatesparsely branched above; trunks with fairly short basal prop roots.*Leaves large to very large, usually spicatethickly leathery, commonly about 3-4 m long and 8-12 cm wide, broadly linear and attenuate at apex; leaf apex upper surface with the twin pleats bearing a few prickles (only in juvenile leaves and seedling leaves; unarmed in mature leaves of adult trees).*Staminate inflorescence a large branched spadix bearing about 12 elongate cylindric spikes consisting , these composed of perianthless flowers, numerous staminate phalanges; each flower phalange with a cluster column about 3 mm long, and about 6-9 subsessile elongate anthers borne around apex of stamens; pollen mostly white to yellowishcolumn, often scented; staminate bracts mostly white to cream or yellow, sometimes orange to purplish; inflorescence depleted of pollen and decaying within 3-4 dayswith a few sterile staminodia. *Pistillate inflorescence either a globose solitary, subglobose to cylindric ovoid or ellipsoid head, or a spike of such heads; upper subtended by whitish to cream bracts early caducous; each head consisting , and composed of either massed unilocular numerous fairly slender 1-celled carpels , ripening as drupes or of 2 to many-celled massed carpels (the stone of each ripened carpel containing 2 to many seed chambers); styles none; stigmas always distinct on the apex of each carpel. Fruit syncarpous, ripening to yellow, orange, redStigma rather large, oblique or occasionally purplish-redvertical, the exocarp of each carpel firm reniform to fleshy; mesocarp toward the base always fibrous; endocarp bonyV-shaped. Seeds endospermous, always retained within the Endocarp comparatively thin ; endosperm copious. (This description applies almost fully also to massively thick bony endocarp''P.julianetti''.)

''-P. brosimosconoideus'' : Erect tree*A branching, sparsely branched abovearborescent shrub to 4-7 m tall; trunks with fairly short basal prop rootsprickly. *Leaves large to very large, thickly leathery, commonly about 31-4 2 m long and 8, often 5-12 8 cm wide, broadly linear and attenuate at often somewhat glaucous beneath, thin to firm, but not rigid, apexacute, not apiculate; leaf apex upper surface with the twin pleats bearing a few prickles (only in juvenile leaves margins and seedling leaves; unarmed in mature leaves of adult trees)midrib prickly. Staminate inflorescence a large branched spadix bearing about 12 elongate cylindric spikes, these composed of numerous *Inflorescence: staminate phalangesinflorescences are not known; each phalange with a column about 3 mm long, and about 6pistillate head oblong-9 subsessile elongate anthers borne around apex of columncylindrical, often with a few sterile staminodia. Pistillate inflorescence a solitaryenveloped closely in yellowish bracts; stigma flat, subglobose to ovoid or ellipsoid blackish, rather broad.*Fruit headwhen ripe often 30-40 cm long, subtended by whitish to cream bracts, and composed of densely packed, very numerous fairly slender 1-celled carpels, ripening as small unilocular drupes. Stigma rather largewith red (rarely yellow) oily pericarp; endocarp small, oblique or vertical, reniform to V-shaped. Endocarp comparatively thin; endosperm copious. (This description applies almost fully also to ''P. julianetti'' .)

''-P. conoideusleram'' : A branching, arborescent shrub to 4-7 m tall; prop roots prickly. Leaves commonly 1-2 m long, often 5-8 cm wide, often somewhat glaucous beneath, thin to firm, but not rigid, apex acute, not apiculate; margins and midrib prickly. Inflorescence: staminate inflorescences are not known; pistillate head oblong-cylindrical, enveloped closely in yellowish bracts; stigma flat, blackish, rather broad. Fruit head when ripe often 30-40 cm long, composed of densely packed, very numerous, small unilocular drupes with red (rarely yellow) oily pericarp; endocarp small, comparatively thin. ''-P. leram'' : *A large branched tree with elongate basal prop roots. *Leaves large to massive, up to 5 m long and 10-15 cm wide; apex attenuate-acute; margins and midrib prickly. *Inflorescence bracts cream; staminate inflorescence a massive branched spadix; spikes oblong, composed of numerous phalanges, these of about 20 stamens arranged umbellately on a stout column 6-7 mm long; anthers apiculate; apiculations minutely tufted at the apex; pistillate inflorescence a solitary, globose head composed of several-celled massed carpels; in fruit, massed carpels very large, often 12-15 cm long; stigmas large, corky; pericarp yellow to orange.

Parthenocarpy is the rule, and apomixis is a common phenomenon. In several species, e.g. ''P. tectorius'', ''P. odoratissimus'' and ''P. dubius,'' , pistillate trees grown far from their native populations produce viable seed, which must obviously be apomictic.

The ''P. brosimos'' - ''julianettii'' complex is subject to experimental verification in which ''P. iwen'' Stone and ''P. carrii'' St John should also be taken into account. Perhaps ''P. julianettii'' is a cultigen of ''P. brosimos'' ; it is always cultivated and found mostly between 2000-2500 m; its leaves are usually green beneath, its drupes 9-12 cm long, rather rounded at the apex. ''P. brosimos'' often grows wild above 2500 m altitude, its leaves are usually very bluish-glaucous beneath and its drupes are 6-8 cm long, rather acute at the apex.

Species related to ''P. conoideus'' are ''P. hollrungii'' Warb. and ''P. cominsii'' Hemsley. They are wild plants but may be used in the same way as the preferred true maritas. The unrelated species ''P. beccarii'' Solms and others related to it, may occasionally also be used like ''P. conoideus'' , but their drupe pericarps are less oily and are probably regarded as poor substitutes.

Reference should be made to natural habitats since growing conditions under cultivation vary. Karuka (mainly ''P. brosimos'' ) grows only at higher altitudes, flourishing in the New Guinea highlands between 2000 and 3300 m and rarely seen below about 2000 m. Originally components of the upper montane vegetation, the trees are in the first instance simply retained while forest is cleared. Later, they are propagated vegetatively or by seed. Marita (mainly ''P. conoideus'' ) are chiefly lowland plants but have been found up to 2000 m altitude. They scarcely overlap the altitudinal zone of karuka. Some clones of ''P. odoratissimus'' and ''P. tectorius'' are especially well-adapted to maritime, sandy habitats, but none do well at upper altitudes or in heavy, poorly-drained loam soils.