# Pandanus
**Pandanus** is a genus of tropical trees and shrubs in the family [Pandanaceae](https://www.edgepedia.org/pandanaceae), commonly called screw pines, characterized by spirally arranged, spiny, sword-shaped leaves, prop roots at the base of the stem, and separate male and female plants bearing distinctive cone-like or pineapple-like compound fruits. The genus was published by Sydney Parkinson in 1773 and is native to the [Old World](https://www.edgepedia.org/old-world) tropics and the Pacific.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | *Pandanus* Parkinson, first published in *J. Voy. South Seas*: 46 (1773)[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) |
| Species count | 450–500 species by one modern treatment; about 600 species in older floras, in ten subgenera and 59 sections[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) • [2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3132438/) |
| Distribution | African and Asian tropics and islands throughout the Pacific; poorly represented in Africa[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) |
| Habit | Evergreen trees and shrubs to about 15 m, usually with prop roots, stems ringed with annular leaf scars[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) |
| Reproduction | Dioecious; fruit a cephalium of free or fused drupes (phalanges)[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) |
| Common uses | Leaves for weaving, thatch, matting, clothing and containers; edible fruits and seeds in New Guinea and the Pacific[3](https://www.anbg.gov.au/angio/pandanac.htm) • [1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) |
| Familiar species | *P. tectorius* (hala, beach pandanus), *P. amaryllifolius* (the culinary pandan), *P. odorifer* (kewra)[4](https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/botany/hawaiianflora/speciesdescr.cfm?genus=Pandanus&species=tectorius) • [5](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/science/article/2024/04/07/a-beetle-not-the-wind-pollinates-pandanus-trees_6667604_10.html) |
## Description
Pandanus species are evergreen trees and shrubs that branch sympodially, often in a candelabra-like pattern, with stems conspicuously ringed by leaf scars and usually supported by a skirt of adventitious prop roots.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) • [6](https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-7000000439) The long, linear, leathery leaves are arranged in three ranks that twist so the foliage appears spiral, and the margins and midribs carry prickles.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information)
The plants are dioecious, meaning male and female flowers occur on separate individuals, and the flowers lack a perianth.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) Male inflorescences are fragrant spikes of fused stamens; female inflorescences develop into large spherical or oblong heads (cephalia) of drupes, which may be free or fused into compound units called phalanges.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) • [6](https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-7000000439) The resulting fruit head resembles a pineapple, a feature noted in popular descriptions of the genus.[7](https://www.nps.gov/wapa/learn/nature/pandanus.htm)
## Distribution and habitat
The genus is distributed in the African and Asian tropics and on islands throughout the Pacific, with its greatest diversity in Malesia and the Pacific.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) New Guinea alone holds about 50 native species, and the [Solomon Islands](https://www.edgepedia.org/solomon-islands) about fifteen, eight of them endemic.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) [Madagascar](https://www.edgepedia.org/madagascar) supports 85 species of *Pandanus*.[8](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/identification-of-priority-areas-for-plant-conservation-in-madagascar-using-red-list-criteria-rare-and-threatened-pandanaceae-indicate-sites-in-need-of-protection/9A1EE96BE37AFB979E6434D5130C1511)
Species occupy a wide range of environments. In [New Guinea](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-guinea), *Pandanus* grows in coastal and mangrove forests, swamps, lowland rain forests and savannahs, from sea level to 3,000–4,000 m, often forming groves.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) The beach pandanus, *P. tectorius*, is indigenous across most of [Polynesia](https://www.edgepedia.org/polynesia), Melanesia and [Micronesia](https://www.edgepedia.org/micronesia), from New Caledonia and northern Australia west to the Philippines, Moluccas and Java, and in the Hawaiian Islands grows naturally on all the main islands.[4](https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/botany/hawaiianflora/speciesdescr.cfm?genus=Pandanus&species=tectorius)
## Taxonomy
With several hundred species, *Pandanus* is the largest genus of Pandanaceae and has long posed difficulties for establishing relationships between species and an infrageneric classification.[9](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/sbg/research/publications/gardens-bulletin-singapore/-/media/sbg/gardens-bulletin/4-4-29-13-y1977-v29-gbs-pg-137.pdf) Molecular work published in 2003 showed that the genus as then circumscribed was not monophyletic: the Malagasy group *Martellidendron* is sister to the climbing genus *Freycinetia* in a clade that also includes *Sararanga*, while the remaining species of *Pandanus* form a separate, well-supported clade. Recognizing *Martellidendron* as a distinct genus made *Pandanus* monophyletic.[10](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2307/4135547) The family as now accepted comprises the genera *Benstonea*, *Freycinetia*, *Martellidendron*, *Pandanus* and *Sararanga*.[11](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A77126751-1/general-information)
The most widespread and taxonomically difficult group is *Pandanus* subgenus *Pandanus*, which includes the *P. tectorius* complex of the Pacific; a long-distance dispersal hypothesis has been proposed to explain the origins of this complex.[12](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790314003868) Fossil impressions of *P. tectorius* fruit more than 1.2 million years old have been found in a rejuvenation-stage lava flow on the north coast of Kauai, Hawaii, with Holocene pollen and subfossil material in deposits along that island's south coast.[12](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790314003868)
## Pollination
Because the plants are dioecious and lack nectar, large petals and showy colors, pollination was long attributed to wind.[5](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/science/article/2024/04/07/a-beetle-not-the-wind-pollinates-pandanus-trees_6667604_10.html) A study by the team of Atsushi Kawakita, professor of botany at the [University of Tokyo](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-tokyo), published in March 2024 in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, demonstrated that *Pandanus odorifer* is pollinated by a specialized beetle of the genus *Amystrops*, an oval insect barely 1 centimeter long.[5](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/science/article/2024/04/07/a-beetle-not-the-wind-pollinates-pandanus-trees_6667604_10.html) • [13](https://academic.oup.com/botlinnean/article/206/2/169/7633884) The beetle's larvae develop in the male inflorescences, and adults covered in pollen were found on female plants, arriving precisely when the female flowers were receptive to pollen.[5](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/science/article/2024/04/07/a-beetle-not-the-wind-pollinates-pandanus-trees_6667604_10.html) Thermal imaging showed the female inflorescence is about 5 degrees warmer than the rest of the plant and the outside air, providing the beetle a warm refuge and explaining its visit to flowers that offer no food.[5](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/science/article/2024/04/07/a-beetle-not-the-wind-pollinates-pandanus-trees_6667604_10.html)
## Uses
**Leaves.** The principal traditional use of pandanus is weaving. Leaves are used for thatch, matting, clothing and containers, and in New Guinea several native and at least three non-native species are cultivated for textile fibers derived from the leaves.[3](https://www.anbg.gov.au/angio/pandanac.htm) • [1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) In traditional CHamoru society on Guam, weaving was the main use of the tree; the fruit was not a staple food, though seed kernels could be prepared as a relish.[7](https://www.nps.gov/wapa/learn/nature/pandanus.htm)
**Food.** In New Guinea, *Pandanus* is cultivated for edible fruits and seeds.[1](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information) In the Solomon Islands the most common edible species is probably *P. dubius*, with numerous other species and cultivated forms eaten locally.[14](https://www.aciar.gov.au/sites/default/files/legacy/node/2157/tr44_pdf_81177.pdf) In Papua New Guinea, nuts of a *Pandanus* species (karuka) are among the non-wood forest products of great social significance.[15](https://www.fao.org/docrep/pdf/010/a1567e/a1567e02.pdf)
**Fragrance and medicine.** *Pandanus odorifer* has been used since ancient times in India in traditional medicine and perfumery under the name kewra, and in Japan its fruits are used as snacks and its shoots as a bamboo substitute.[5](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/science/article/2024/04/07/a-beetle-not-the-wind-pollinates-pandanus-trees_6667604_10.html) *P. odoratissimus* is an important medicinal plant in the Pacific; in Pohnpei its root is used in traditional medicine, and in Indonesia the male flowers are used in ceremonies.[16](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4408760/)
## Conservation
[Conservation status](https://www.edgepedia.org/conservation-status) varies widely across the genus. *P. tectorius* was assessed as Least Concern in 2018, and in Kiribati a field gene bank in Bikenibeu South, South Tarawa, established with support from SPC, FAO, SPRIG and USP, holds more than 60 traditional varieties.[17](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T62335A135987404.en) At the other extreme, *P. philippinensis*, a tree endemic to Luzon in the Philippines, is assessed as critically endangered.[18](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A671347-1/general-information) In Madagascar, application of IUCN Red List criteria to the 85 species of *Pandanus* and 6 of *Martellidendron* identified threatened species and priority sites for protection, including nine critically endangered *Pandanus* species.[8](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/identification-of-priority-areas-for-plant-conservation-in-madagascar-using-red-list-criteria-rare-and-threatened-pandanaceae-indicate-sites-in-need-of-protection/9A1EE96BE37AFB979E6434D5130C1511) • [19](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231782632_Application_of_IUCN_Red_List_criteria_and_assessment_of_Priority_Areas_for_Plant_Conservation_in_Madagascar_rare_and_threatened_Pandanaceae_indicate_new_sites_in_need_of_protection) New species continue to be described, including *P. martinianus* from northeastern India in 2011 and two new species from Sarawak reported in 2026.[20](https://www.biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.73.1.1/0) • [21](https://pertanika2.upm.edu.my/resources/files/Pertanika%20PAPERS/JTAS%20Vol.%2049%20%281%29%20Feb.%202026%20%28View%20Full%20Journal%29.pdf)
## References
1. [Pandanus Parkinson, Plants of the World Online, Kew Science](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A31599-1/general-information)
2. [A new threatened species of Pandanaceae from northwestern Madagascar, Pandanus sermolliana, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3132438/)
3. [Pandanaceae R.Br., Australian National Botanic Gardens](https://www.anbg.gov.au/angio/pandanac.htm)
4. [Flora of the Hawaiian Islands: Pandanus tectorius, Smithsonian Institution](https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/botany/hawaiianflora/speciesdescr.cfm?genus=Pandanus&species=tectorius)
5. [A beetle, not the wind, pollinates pandanus trees, Le Monde (English edition), 7 April 2024](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/science/article/2024/04/07/a-beetle-not-the-wind-pollinates-pandanus-trees_6667604_10.html)
6. [Pandanaceae R.Br., World Flora Online](https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-7000000439)
7. [Pandanus (kaffo'), War In The Pacific National Historical Park, U.S. National Park Service](https://www.nps.gov/wapa/learn/nature/pandanus.htm)
8. [Identification of priority areas for plant conservation in Madagascar using Red List criteria, Oryx (Cambridge Core)](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/identification-of-priority-areas-for-plant-conservation-in-madagascar-using-red-list-criteria-rare-and-threatened-pandanaceae-indicate-sites-in-need-of-protection/9A1EE96BE37AFB979E6434D5130C1511)
9. [The Morphology and Systematics of Pandanus Today, Gardens Bulletin Singapore 29: 137 (1977)](https://www.nparks.gov.sg/sbg/research/publications/gardens-bulletin-singapore/-/media/sbg/gardens-bulletin/4-4-29-13-y1977-v29-gbs-pg-137.pdf)
10. [Callmander et al. (2003). Recognition of Martellidendron, a new genus of Pandanaceae, and its biogeographic implications. TAXON](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2307/4135547)
11. [Pandanaceae R.Br., Plants of the World Online, Kew Science](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A77126751-1/general-information)
12. [A long distance dispersal hypothesis for the Pandanaceae and the origins of the Pandanus tectorius complex, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1055790314003868)
13. [Pollination of thermogenic inflorescence of Pandanus odorifer by a specialist Amystrops sap beetle, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 206(2): 169](https://academic.oup.com/botlinnean/article/206/2/169/7633884)
14. [Pandanus spp. 'Screw pines', ACIAR Technical Report 44](https://www.aciar.gov.au/sites/default/files/legacy/node/2157/tr44_pdf_81177.pdf)
15. [Overview of NWFP trade in Papua New Guinea, FAO Non-Wood News No. 16](https://www.fao.org/docrep/pdf/010/a1567e/a1567e02.pdf)
16. [Pandanus odoratissimus (Kewda): A Review on Ethnopharmacology, Phytochemistry, and Nutritional Aspects, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4408760/)
17. [Pandanus tectorius (Beach Pandanus), The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T62335A135987404](https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T62335A135987404.en)
18. [Pandanus philippinensis Merr., Plants of the World Online, Kew Science](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A671347-1/general-information)
19. [Application of IUCN Red List criteria and assessment of Priority Areas for Plant Conservation in Madagascar, ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231782632_Application_of_IUCN_Red_List_criteria_and_assessment_of_Priority_Areas_for_Plant_Conservation_in_Madagascar_rare_and_threatened_Pandanaceae_indicate_new_sites_in_need_of_protection)
20. [Pandanus martinianus (Pandanaceae), a new endemic species from northeastern India, Phytotaxa 73](https://www.biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.73.1.1/0)
21. [Two New Pandanus Species from Sarawak, Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science 49(1): 95-110 (2026)](https://pertanika2.upm.edu.my/resources/files/Pertanika%20PAPERS/JTAS%20Vol.%2049%20%281%29%20Feb.%202026%20%28View%20Full%20Journal%29.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Plants and algae › Seed plants › Monocots › Sedges and other monocot families › Commelinid and alismatid overview*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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