624 PANDANACB^. 



class Enneandria of LinnKus. Authors give 5 genera, including 8 

 species. Examples — Butomus, Limnocharis. 



c. iNCOMPLETiE. — Flowers incomplete, often unisexual, without a proper 

 perianth, or with a few verticillate scales. 



Order 209. — Pandanacb^, the , Screw-pine Family. (Fig. 98, 

 p. 39.) {Mono-Hypog.) Flowers unisexual or polygamous, covering 

 the whole of the spadix. Perianth 0, or a few scales. Male flowers : 

 stamens numerous ; filaments with single anthers, which are 2-4-celled. 

 Female flowers : ovaries 1 -celled, united in parcels ; ovules solitary or 

 numerous, anatropal ; stigmas sessile, equal to the carpels in numher. 

 Fruit either fibrous drupes collected into parcels, or berries. Seeds 

 solitary in the drupes, numerous in the berries ; embryo at the base 

 of fieshy albumen ; radicle next the hilum. — Trees or bushes, some- 

 times with adventitious roots (fig. 134, 2, p. 68), long, imbricated, 

 amplexioaul leaves, usually with spiny margins and backs. Natives 

 of tropical regions. The order is subdivided into two sections ; — 1. 

 Pandanese, undivided leaves and no perianth. 2. OyclanthesB, fan- 

 shaped or pinnate leaves, flowers with a few scales. There are 25 

 genera, according to authors, and 85 species. Examples — Pandanus, 

 Freycinetia ; Cyclanthus, Oarludovica, Nipa. 



The flowers of some of the plants are fragrant, and their seeds 

 are sometimes used as food. The juice has in some instances astrin- 

 gent properties. In the stem of the Screw-pines fibro-vascular bundles 

 occur, containing woody tubes, scalariform and spiral vessels. Cells 

 are also seen on the outside containing large prismatical crystals. 

 The species of Fandanus are remarkable for their aerial roots, with 

 large cup-like spongioles. These roots are sent out regularly frqm all 

 parts of their stems, and appear like artificial props (fig. 134, 2, p. 

 68). Their spermoderm has numerous raphides. Their leaves are 

 arranged in a spiral manner in three rows, and in their aspect they 

 have some resemblance to those of the pine-apple — hence the name 

 Screw-pine. The appearance of the fruit may also have given origin 

 to the name. Fandanus Candelabra is the Chandelier-tree of Guinea, 

 and is so called on account of its mode of branching. The Pandani 

 are called Vacoas in Mauritius and Eodrigues. They abound in 

 these islands. Freycinetia Banhsii is the Kie-Kie, or Screw-pine of 

 New Zealand. The fleshy bracts called Tawhara are eaten by the 

 natives ; they are also made by the colonists into a luscious jelly, like 

 strawberries. The leaves are used in basket-making. Panama hats 

 are made from the leaves of Oarludovica pahnata. In 1869 these were 

 exported from Santa Martha to the value of £34,579. Some of these 

 hats sell from £4 to £10. Species of Nipa yield a kind of wine from 

 their spadices. The Atap of India is the fruit of N. fruticans. 



