Pandanus drupaceus
| Pandanus drupaceus | |
|---|---|
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| Botanical illustration of the drupe of Pandanus drupaceus (left). | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Pandanales |
| Family: | Pandanaceae |
| Genus: | Pandanus |
| Species: | P. drupaceus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pandanus drupaceus Thouars | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Pandanus strigilis Carmich. ex Balf.f. | |
Pandanus drupaceus is a species of plant in the Pandanaceae family, endemic to Mauritius.
Description
A low-lying, spreading, freely-branching tree. Decumbent branches can lie along the ground and root to form new trees. There are only a few stilt-roots at the base of the trunk, and the pale grey bark is cracked and fissured.
It can easily be distinguished from related species by its rosettes of wide, flat, stiff, incurved leaves. These have reddish-orange marginal spines only near the tip of the leaf, and not near the leaf base.
The large (20–25 cm) fruit-head is held erect on a short peduncle. Each fruit-head is packed with 20-30 purple, flattened, angular drupes.[1][2][3]
Distribution
It was endemic to Mauritius, where it was formerly common in the highlands. It grows in wet areas and marshes, but also dryer rocky outcrops.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pandanus drupaceus. |
References
- ↑ Vaughan RE, Wiehe PO (1953) The genus Pandanus in the Mascarene Islands. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Botany 55(356): 1-33. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.1953.tb00001.x.
- ↑ Strahm, W.A. 1993. The conservation and restoration of the flora of Mauritius and Rodrigues. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis (2 vols.), Reading University, UK.
- ↑ Vaughan, R.E. and Wiehe, P.O. 1953. Flore des Mascareignes, Genus Pandanus. The Sugar Industry Research Institute, Mauritius, ORSTOM, Paris and RBG, Kew.