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Oct. 26, 2006 A very interesting and unusual tree that grows in Hawai’i is the pandanus, which has two pronunciations, rhyming with either ‘heinous’ or ‘Janice’. The Indonesian and Tagalog word is ‘pandan’, and that must be the origin of the English name. The Hawai’ian word is ‘hala’ but the definite article ‘ka’ (‘the’) is usually prefixed, so you see ‘kahala’ more often than not. There is a neighborhoof in Honolulu called Kahala, and there is a Kahala Mall. The tree is also called the ‘screw pine’ and the ‘pineapple tree’, but both of these names are misleading, and should be deprecated. The scientific name is ‘Pandanus tectorius’ and in this context, ‘Pandanus’should be capitalized. Pandanus tectorius is one of several hundred species in the genus Pandanus, of the family Pandanaceae, of the order Pandanales. It is in the class Liliopsida, and is therefore a monocot. A quick inspection of the leaves shows parallel veins, one of the hallmarks of monocots. The leaves are three feet long and two inches wide, very tough and fibrous, with spines along the edges. Even if you could grab the leaf without getting your hands bloody, you could not tear it. The leaves are popular for basketry. The tree has large edible fruit, which do look like pineapples, but are not. Pineapples, though also monocots, are in the order Bromeliales, and grow on the ground, not in trees. Nor do these trees have anything to do with pines. ‘Screw pine’ was a name given to the tree by American and European sailors in the nineteenth century. Here is a picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Pandanus_tectorius.jpg Apparently, it is not known for a certainty that Pandanus tectorius is indigenous to Hawai’i. It may have been introduced by the original Polynesian settlers, who are believed to have reached the mini-archipelago about 1500 years ago. They are also credited with the introduction of coconut palms, as well as pigs and goats, whose feral descendants now roam the mountains of the islands. Pandanus tectorius, as well as the other species of Pandanus, are widely dispersed through Oceania and parts of Australia, all the way from Hawai’i to Madagascar. The most interesting feature of these trees is the ‘prop’ or ‘stilt’ roots, which can be seen in this picture: http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/600max/starr_040209_0093_pandanus_tectorius.jpg These roots are reminiscent of the roots of mangrove trees. I wondered for some time exactly how they grow, supposing that they moved upward with the trunk, breaking the ground slowly. But no, they grow down from the trunk, pointing at the ground like long fingers, until they actually reach and penetrate. This explains why they are sometimes called ‘aerial’ roots. But they do not begin as tendrils, being rigid from the outset. I have seen Pandanus trees in Florida too, where they must have been introduced in the last century or so. According to the text at the URL next below, which also includes some excellent pictures, Pandanus grows marginally in southern California, but I’ve never seen any, though I lived there several years. So just forget any other locations in mainland USA. http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/screw_pine.htm ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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