Fragrant screwpine

A tropical plant. Plants occur in coastal areas especially just behind the shoreline. They grow along the coasts in India. It grows at Mumbai. It grows in damp soil. It suits hardiness zones 11-12. (This plant is similar to and often confused with Pandanus tectorius which grows in the Pacific and has been taken elsewhere.)

Also known as:

Ara, Fa, Gagandhul, Gajangi, Hala, Kaida, Kaina, Karikio, Kedki-keya, Kenr, Keora, Keori, Ketaki, Keteki phul, Ketki, Keura, Kevada, Kevda, Kewda, Kewoda, Kewra, Keya kathal, Keya, Kyad-agegida, Maakashikeyo, Mudu kekiya, Mugali, Ram-la-khuih, Satthapu, Talai, Tale mara, Tazkai, Thala, Thalay, Tilai

Synonyms

Athrodactylis spinosa J. R. Forst. & G. Forst. [Illegitimate]

Bromelia sylvestris Burm.f.

Eydouxia delessertii Gaudich.

Hasskarlia leucaantha Walp.

Keura odora Thunb.

Keura odorifera Forssk.

Marquartia leucacantha Hassk.

Pandanus adduensis H. St. John

Pandanus albibracteatus H. St. John

Pandanus ambiglaucus H. St. John

Pandanus blancoi Kunth

Pandanus boryi Gaudich.

Pandanus camosus H. St. John

Pandanus delessertii (Gaudich.) Warb.

Pandanus fascicularis Lam. Pandanus fosbergii H. St., John

Pandanus globosus H. St. John

Pandanus hartmanii H. St. John

Pandanus hendersonii H. St. John

Pandanus hueensis H. St., John

Pandanus inclinatus H. St. John

Pandanus incrassatus H. St. John

Pandanus integriapicis H. St. John

Pandanus karikayo H. St. John

Pandanus leucanthus Hassk.

Pandanus linnaei Gaudich.

Pandanus linnaei f. philippinensis Martelli

Pandanus littoralis Jungh.

Pandanus loureiroi Gaudich.

Pandanus maldivecus H. St. John

Pandanus millore Roxb.

Pandanus obtusus H. St. John

Pandanus odoratissimus L. f.

Pandanus odoratissimus var. (many varieties) Pandanus odoratus Salisb.

Pandanus phamhoangii H. St. John

Pandanus projectens H. St. John

Pandanus remotus H. St. John

Pandanus reversispiralis H. St. John

Pandanus rheedei Gaudich.

Pandanus rubricoloratus H. St. John

Pandanus rumphii Gaudich.

Pandanus semiorbicularis H. St. John

Pandanus sinensis (Warb.) Martelli

Pandanus smitinandii H. St. John

Pandanus spiralis Blanco [Illegitimate]

Pandanus subcamosus H. St. John

Pandanus subulatus H. St. John

Pandanus tectorius var. (several varieties)

Pandanus verus Rumph. ex Kurz [Illegitimate]

Pandanus verus var. flaccidus Kurz

Pandanus verus var. littoralis Kurz

Pandanus vietnamensis H. St. John

Edible Portion

Leaves, Spice, Fruit, Shoot, Seeds, Flower buds

Where does Fragrant screwpine grow?

Found in: Andamans, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Micronesia, Myanmar, Northeastern India, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, Polynesia, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, United States, Vietnam

Notes: There are about 600 Pandanus species. They grow in the tropics. It possibly has anti-cancer properties. It has 24.65 mg per 100 g dry weight and 13.15 mg fresh weight of alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E).

Status: Moderately common in coastal areas in Papua New Guinea, but nut only eaten in some places. In the Maldives it is significant.

Growing Fragrant screwpine

Cultivation: Plants are normally self sown. They can be grown from seed or suckers.

Edible Uses: The fleshy base of the fruit is eaten in one kind. The lower part of the fruit is sucked. The kernels are eaten in some kinds. Kernels are eaten raw or lightly cooked. The growing shoot can be eaten after thorough washing in salt water. Drinks are made using the male flower. CAUTION: The fruit can cause irritation in the mouth when eaten. The young tender leaves near the flower are eaten raw or cooked. They are used to flavour drinks and desserts.

Production: Trees flower 3-4 years after planting. The strongly scented flavouring essence is distilled from male flowers.

Nutrition Info

per 100g edible portion

Edible Part	Energy (kcal)	Protein (g)	Iron (mg)	Vitamin A (ug)	Vitamin c (mg)	Zinc (mg)	% Water
	-	-	-	-	-	-

References

Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 423 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 106 (As Pandanus fascicularis)

Bole, P.V., & Yaghani, Y., 1985, Field Guide to the Common Trees of India. OUP p 99 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Bourke, M., 1995, Edible Indigenous Nuts in Papua New Guinea. In South Pacific Indigenous Nuts. ACIAR Proceedings No 69, Canberra. p 46 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Bremness, L., 1994, Herbs. Collins Eyewitness Handbooks. Harper Collins. p 70 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Ching, L. S. & Mohamed, S., 2001, Alpha-Tocopherol Content in 62 Edible Tropical Plants. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2001, 49, 3101−3105 (As Pandanus odorus ?)

CURREY, (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Dobriyal, M. J. R. & Dobriyal, R., 2014, Non Wood Forest Produce an Option for Ethnic Food and Nutritional Security in India. Int. J. of Usuf. Mngt. 15(1):17-37 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Elevitch, C.R.(ed.), 2006, Traditional Trees of the Pacific Islands: Their Culture, Environment and Use. Permanent Agriculture Resources, Holualoa, Hawaii. p 566 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Etherington, K., & Imwold, D., (Eds), 2001, Botanica's Trees & Shrubs. The illustrated A-Z of over 8500 trees and shrubs. Random House, Australia. p 510 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 165 (As Pandanus fascicularis)

GAMMIE, (As Pandanus fascicularis)

Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 460 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

IRVINE, (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Kar, A., et al, 2013, Wild Edible Plant Resources used by the Mizos of Mizoram, India. Kathmandu University Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology. Vol. 9, No. 1, July, 2013, 106-126 (As Pandanus fascicularis)

Lamoureux, C.H., 1976, Trailside Plants of Hawaii's National Parks. Hawaii Natural History Association. p 15 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Lugod, G.C. and de Padua L.S., 1979, Wild Food Plants in the Philippines. Vol. 1. Univ. of Philippines Los Banos. p 62 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

McMakin, P.D., 2000, Flowering Plants of Thailand. A Field Guide. White Lotus. p 79 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Murakami, A. et al, 2014, Screening for the In Vitro Anti-tumor-promoting Activities of Edible Plants from Malaysia. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 64:1, 9-16. (As Pandanus odoratus Ridl.)

Patiri, B. & Borah, A., 2007, Wild Edible Plants of Assam. Geethaki Publishers. p 152 (As Pandanus fascicularis)

PROSEA (Plant Resources of South East Asia) handbook, Volume 2, 1991, Edible fruits and nut. p 241 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Purseglove, J.W., 1972, Tropical Crops. Monocotyledons. Longmans p 513 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Sahni, K.C., 2000, The Book of Indian Trees. Bombay Natural History Society. Oxford. p 186 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Sarma, H., et al, 2010, Updated Estimates of Wild Edible and Threatened Plants of Assam: A Meta-analysis. International Journal of Botany 6(4): 414-423 (As Pandanus fasicularis)

Selvam, V., 2007, Trees and shrubs of the Maldives. RAP Publication No. 2007/12 p 216 (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Solomon, C., 2001, Encyclopedia of Asian Food. New Holland. p 195, 269 (As Pandanus fascicularis)

Suppl. pl. 424. 1782 ("1781") - an illegitimate, superfluous name (ICBN Art. 52) as Linnaeus f. cited the monotypic Keura Forssk. in synonymy (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

Sujanapal, P., & Sankaran, K. V., 2016, Common Plants of Maldives. FAO & Kerala FRI, p 192

Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 742

Swaminathan, M.S., and Kochnar, S.L., 2007, An Atlas of major Flowering Trees in India. Macmillan. p 269 (As Pandanus fascicularis)

WATT, (As Pandanus odoratissimus)

World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew