PANCRATIUM 



PAXDAXIS 



2449 



Conte=H. occidentalis. P. fragrant, Salisb.=H. ovata, but P. 

 fragrans, Willd.=H. caribaea. P. gahtstonenst, Hort., presumably 

 = H. galvestonensis. P. Hdrrisii, Hort., is presumably H. Har- 

 risiana. P. littorale, Jacq.=H. littoralis. P. mzicdnum=H. 

 rotata probably. P. ovatum, Mill.=H. ovata. P. rotiUum, Ker= 

 H. rotata. P. unduldtum, HBK.=H. undulata. 



WILHELM MILLER. 

 L. H. B.f 



PANDANUS ^Latinized form of a Malayan name). 

 Patidanactx. SCREW-PINE. Tropical plants often 

 attaining the size of trees, and remarkable for their 

 stilt-like aerial roots, and the perfect spiral arrange- 

 ment of their long sword-shaped leaves. They are 

 planted in tropical and subtropical regions, and are 

 also grown as pot and tub specimens for greenhouse, 

 residence, veranda and lawn decoration, where their 

 stiff clustered foliage gives them a formal decorative 

 character. 



The family Pandanacea? comprises 3 genera 

 (Warburg, in Engler's Das Pflanzenreich, IV: 9 

 [hft. 3] 1900): Sararanga, with 2 species, in the 

 S. Sea Isls. and Philippines; Freycinetia, more 

 than 100 species, from Ceylon to Philippines, 

 Austral., New Zeal., and Hawaii; Pandanus, 

 with probably 250 species now described, in 

 Trop. Afr., India, Austral., islands of the Indian Ocean 

 and the Pacific. Pandanus comprises small trees or 

 shrubs, erect or rarely prostrate, usually forked, the 

 trunk annular, often producing aerial roots: Ivs. linear 

 and acute, commonly sharp-dentate or prickly on mar- 

 gin and midrib, the base usually vaginate but not 

 petioled: fls. dioecious, in axillary or terminal spadices, 

 the male spadices branched, the female always terminal 

 and racemose or solitary, the leafy spadix-bracts usually 

 colored; perianth none; stamens many in male fls., 

 the filaments free or connate; staminodes in female fls. 

 small or none, the ovary free or joined to those of 

 adjacent fls. ; ovule solitary and erect : fr. a syncarpium 

 of free or connate angular woody or fleshy drupes, some- 

 times large (1 ft. long) and cone-like. The screw- 

 pines are characteristic plants in many tropical regions, 

 with long ringed trunks, bracing roots, and crowns of 

 dracena-like foliage. The Ivs. of some species are used 

 in manufacture of bagging and in other ways, and of 

 some kinds the frs. are eaten. Some of them have very 

 fragrant fls., and of others the frs. or other parts are 

 fetid. Two species are important in cult., P. Veitchii 

 and P. utilis, the former variegated, the latter not. 

 (See Figs. 2742-2744.) Young plants of these are 

 amongst the most popular foliage plants for home 

 decoration. They are especially suited for fern-pans 

 and table-decoration. They are grown to a very large 

 extent by wholesale florists and palm specialists. 



Every conservatory has them, and occasionally P. 

 utilis is grown to a considerable age and height for the 

 sake of a perfect specimen of the spiral habit of growth 

 on a large scale. (See Fig. 2743.) Some of the species 

 have red- or purple-tinted Ivs., but these appear not 

 to have become popular. In the tropics, P. utilis is 

 as valuable to the natives as many palms. The frs. 

 are edible, and the roots furnish fiber for ropes, baskets, 

 mats and hats, as do also the Ivs. which are used in 



2742. Pandanus Veitchii. 



2743. Pandanus utilis. A young screw-pine just beginning to show 

 the spiral character. 



making paper and nets. The numbers of species in 

 commercial cult, are very few, although many names 

 occur in horticultural literature. Without fls. and frs., 

 it is difficult to know what species are actually in cult., 

 or how accurate may be the popular descriptions and 

 illustrations. For the same reason it is impossible to 

 construct an accurate botanical key that will be of 

 practical use to the gardener. Some of the good garden 

 kinds are unplaced botanically, particularly the varie- 

 gated or striped-lvd. kinds, which are sterile or the 

 fructification insufficiently studied. 



Pandanuses are among the best decorative plants 

 and they are not difficult to manage when grown under 

 favorable conditions. They are usually at home in 

 palm-houses, and some of the species may be treated as 

 semi-aquatics in victoria tanks. As a rule, they thrive 

 in much heat and with plenty of water. From the 

 latter part of January on, these plants become active 

 in growth. It is at this time that one must make the 

 atmosphere of the house more congenial in the way of 

 supplying abundance of atmospheric moisture. To 

 supply this condition, damp down the benches, paths 

 and under the benches two or three times a day in 

 bright weather. Before they have made too much head- 

 way any necessary repotting should be done, such as 

 renewing with new compost or shifting into larger pots. 

 A good compost to use is fibrous loam four parts, well- 

 decayed manure and leaf-mold one part each, with 

 enough sand added to give it a porous texture. See 

 that the pots have plenty of drainage and pot firm 

 enough to get the new compost well around the roots. 

 In February and on, as the days become longer and the 

 sun more powerful, they will require more water at 

 the roots, with frequent syringings. The temperature 

 may be increased from 60 to 65 at night, and in late 

 spring and summer they will need a night temperature of 

 70 with a rise of 10 to 15 in bright weather. During 

 summer when the sun is powerful, they will need a 

 little shade, but only enough to hold them in good 

 color as they like plenty of diffused sunlight at this 



