pandanus

Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

pan·da·nus

(păn-dā′nəs, -dăn′əs)

Any of numerous tropical trees and shrubs of the genus Pandanus native to Africa, Asia, and islands of the Pacific Ocean, having thick prop roots, edible fruit in some species, and a crown of narrow spiny leaves used as a fiber for weaving mats and similar articles and as a seasoning in cooking. Also called screw pine.

[New Latin Pandanus, genus name, from Malay pandan, pandanus, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *paŋdan, from Proto-Austronesian *paŋudan.]

pan′da·na′ceous (păn′də-nā′shəs) adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pandanus

(pænˈdeɪnəs)

n, pl -nuses

(Plants) any of various Old World tropical palmlike plants of the genus Pandanus, having large aerial prop roots and leaves that yield a fibre used for making mats, etc: family Pandanaceae. See also screw pine

[C19: via New Latin from Malay pandan]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

screw′ pine`

any tropical Asian tree, shrub, or climbing plant of the family Pandanaceae, having long, narrow, spirally arranged leaves and aerial roots.

[1830–40]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	pandanus - fiber from leaves of the pandanus tree; used for woven articles (such as mats) natural fiber, natural fibre - fiber derived from plants or animals
	2.	pandanus - any of various Old World tropical palmlike trees having huge prop roots and edible conelike fruits and leaves like pineapple leaves screw pine genus Pandanus - type genus of the Pandanaceae (as screw pines) lauhala, Pandanus tectorius, textile screw pine - Polynesian screw pine tree - a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

At his feet had squatted his three old wives, the oldest of them, toothless and somewhat palsied, ever presenting to his hand, at his head nod, a basket rough-woven of pandanus leaf.

He seized it with his left hand, with a quick pull and twist wrenched it off, and grinningly tossed it, as a joke, into the pandanus basket which still his wife with one hand held before him while with the other she clutched her forehead bleeding from a flying fragment of pistol.

View in context

Straight up the beach to a shack under a pandanus tree Raoul headed.

The gust of wind struck the pandanus tree overhead and tore through the palms beyond, flinging half a dozen ripe cocoanuts with heavy thuds to the ground.

The pandanus tree, to which he attached himself, turned over and over in the froth and churn; and it was only by holding on at times and waiting, and at other times shifting his grips rapidly, that he was able to get his head and Ngakura's to the surface at intervals sufficiently near together to keep the breath in them.

View in context

It has been stated by some authors that the Birgos crawls up the cocoa-nut trees for the purpose of stealing the nuts: I very much doubt the possibility of this; but with the Pandanus [8] the task would be very much easier.

View in context

A number of Philippine frog species have been documented to utilize leaf axils of screwpines (Pandanus) as breeding sites, such as P.

Abundancia y uso de microhabitat por parte del sapo Platymantis hazelae (Anura: Ceratobatrachidae)

He added that from the few studies that have been done on fecal samples and gut contents, it is known that the primary fruiting trees consumed by frugivorous monitors are Pandanus and Canarium.

Forest monitor lizard

Visit alesund.com Departures Sri Lanka June 9, from Glasgow, 10 nights all inclusive at 4* Pandanus Beach Resort, PS929pp.

FJORD FOCUS; There's plenty to see and do in colourful Norwegian arts and craft town Alesund, home to some of the country's most beautiful ornate buildings

Long-haul deals | Flying from Glasgow on June 9, 10 nights all-inclusive at the 4* Pandanus Beach Resort, Sri Lanka, from PS929pp.

GOWITH THE FLOE; Having a whale of a time chilling out in the lap of luxury on a cruise amid the glaciers of Alaska

While the wound is healing, the boys' mothers are also in seclusion, in a large collective shelter built for the occasion at the outskirts of the village, and they must follow certain dietary and behavioural proscriptions to help the healing process: no viscous foods and no red pandanus juice--which, we shall see, is the primary substitute for human blood.

Actions, Relations and Transformations: The Cycle of Life According to the Ankave of Papua New Guinea