Pandanus  amaryllifolius

                         - The Screw Pine
               

              A young screw pine plant-Pandanus amaryllifolius
 

This is a common garden plant found throughout the tropics where it is indigenous. It is prized for the exquisite aromatic flavor in the leaf extract. The locals use the leaf extracts
to flavor food and pastries. Almost every household has several of these plants growing in their backyard.
 
You can find this special plant in several garden nurseries that specialize in the rare and exotic plant category.

The botanical name of this plant is Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb. (synonym  Pandanus odoratus Ridl.). Its common name is the screw pine - also known by its local, ethnic name as "Pandan Wangi" or 'pandan'.
 

               Why Is This Plant So Special?
         

It is an ideal garden plant. The leaves are shiny and smooth; and stays green all year long. Seldom bothered by diseases and bugs, it does not require a whole lot of care. In fact, it thrives on neglect. You harvest the leaves and it keeps on growing. What else would you ask for from a garden plant?
        

           How Do You Cook With This Plant?

What exquisite fragrance and flavor! This nondescript looking plant is fast finding its way to haute cuisine in America's finest restaurants. Just like the vanilla bean where you use the seed pod to flavor food and pastries, use the sap expressed from the leaves. In the tropics where it is grown, the leaves are used to perfume sweet and savory dishes, and to impart a natural green color to the food, instead of using chemical food dyes.

Pound or crush the leaves to make an extract or bruise the underside of the leaves before using as a wrap around meat or vegetables during cooking. You can also tie the crushed
leaves into a knot and use for broth infusion.

It is best to use freshly crushed leaves because the true essence is lost when leaves are dried. The extract is also available commercially in ethnic grocery stores but it is not the same as the real thing.

                        About The Pandan Plant
 

It is an evergreen perennial that grows up to 3-6 feet. Older plants develop thick aerial roots from the main stem. The leaves are slender about 12-14 inches long, smooth, pleated, sword-like and free from thorns. The leaves grow in a spiral around the main trunk; hence the name screw pine. The aromatic compound is located in little extensions of leaf cells called papillae on the under surfaces of the leaves.

Pandanus amaryllifolius is a cultivated plant, native to Malesia (West Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Ceylon) and now found world wide due to human transport.

This plant is different from other screw pine species because it has never been found growing in the wild. Male flowers are extremely rare. Female flowers have never been seen or described in scientific literature.
 

Morphologically, there is a large and a small form of the same species. In the past, these two forms were given different botanical names because they were thought to be
two distinctly different species. Taxonomists now accept these two forms as merely different growth forms of the same species.

               
                    Plant Propagation
 

As the plant grows, it forms little suckers at the base of the mother plant. These little plantlets can easily be separated and transplanted. Cuttings can be made from the main trunk
where sometimes little plantlets appear. Make sure there are at least several aerial roots included when making cuttings.

Propagation can also be achieved using the tissue culture method.


                         How To Grow It
 

In areas where there is frost, it is best to keep the plant as a potted garden plant and bring it indoors during the colder months. It prefers indirect sun, with moist, well-drained soil rich in compost; and high humidity.


                        Botanical Information
 

Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb. is the only species in the Pandanaceae family that has fragrant leaves. There are several cultivars of this species and each one differs in the
number of essence-producing papillae on the leaves.
 

The genus Pandanus is very large, consisting of over 1400 different species. Some are small shrubs while others are tall, towering, majestic-looking trees.

Within this family of pandan, the majority of the species
are found throughout the coastal areas of the tropics,
subtropics and Pacific Islands and in the warm, north-eastern coastal areas of Australia.

They are usually found growing along the shore tidal line growing behind mangrove trees. Their thick prop roots growing out from the trunk help to stabilize the tree in soft soil.

The leaves grow out in a screw like pattern which is evident from the leaf scars left behind on the trunk. Unlike their cultivated cousin, these wild plants have leaves that are armed with sharp, stout thorns along the leaf margins and veins.

Most pandan species are dioecious - which means that separate male and female flowers are borne on different plants. The flowers are pollinated by bats and birds. The
fruit is large and conspicuous, and relished by native
islanders as well as wild animals and birds. The natives use the leaves for medicine, shelter, and crafts.
 

                    What is in the aroma?
 

The main aromatic compound  is a chemical, 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline. This is chemically similar to that found in some scented varieties of basmati rice.

The plant is also valued for several different kinds of flavonoids in the leaf extracts. Recently, three new alkaloids had been analyzed, adding to the repertoire of five known alkaloids; all with potential medicinal properties. Flavonoid extracts from the leaves are believed to have anti-oxidant, anti-viral, anti-allergen, anti-platelet and anti-inflammatory properties. Extracts from the prop roots are believed to be anti-diuretic.

Reference material for those who are interested in learning more about this exotic plant or genus:
 

1) Stone, B.C. (1977) Studies in Malesian Pandanaceae    XVII on the taxonomy of 'Pandan Wangi' A Pandanus
cultivar with scented leaves.
J. Econ. Botany 32(3): 285-293.
 

2) http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/Pand_ama.html

3)  http://agricola.nal.usda.gov 
     Enter the plant name in the search box and go from there.

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