Revision of the Genus Pandanus Stickman, Part 23 
Three Australian Species of Pandanus 
Harold St. John 1 
The section Micro stigma of the genus Pan- 
danus has but three representatives in Australia. 
P. de-Lestangii Martelli was the first of these to 
be discovered and described. 
P. adscendens St. John belongs in the large 
section Pandanus. Like many others of its 
species, this new one with smooth-sided pha- 
langes has its habitat on the marine littoral. 
P. darwinensis St. John was described earlier 
and the details of its phalanges were given. 
Now habit photos are at hand and they show 
vegetative and fruiting structures. 
Pandanus de-Lestangii Martelli, Roy. Soc. 
Queensl. Proc. 38(5):57-58, pi. XI, 1926 
(sect. Microstigma ') . 
P. aquaticus F. Muell., Kew J. Bot. 8:324, 
1856 (nomen provisorium) ; Fragm. 
Phytog. Austral. 5:40, 1865; and 8:220, 
1874; Bentham, FI. Austral. 7:149, 1878; 
Warburg, Engler’s Pflanzenreich IV, 9:85, 
1900; S. T. Blake, Austral. J. Bot. 
2(1):130— 132, pi. 7, fig. 3, 1954. 
Figs. 240 and 241 
diagnosis of holotype: Small and tree- 
like, forming dense clumps; trunk to 5 m in 
height, near the top 2-3 -branched; prop roots 
numerous; each soon producing a new stem; 
leaves 1.8-2. 7 m long, 7.5-8 cm wide near 
the base, 5.3 cm wide at the middle, bluish 
green, drooping, coriaceous, broadly channeled 
above the midrib, with 2 lateral pleats, at mid- 
section with 62 parallel secondary veins in each 
side, throughout the lower side the tertiary cross 
veins conspicuous, forming long oblong meshes, 
the blade sword-shaped and from the base 
gradually tapering to the trigonous subulate 
unarmed apex which is about 15 cm long, this 
at 10 cm down 3.5 mm wide; the base amplexi- 
caul and unarmed, but beginning about 6 cm up 
1 B. P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii 96819. 
Manuscript received January 9, 1963. 
the margins with prickles 2. 5-3. 5 mm long, 
5-12 mm apart, slender arcuate subulate, 
appressed ascending, reddish tipped; the midrib 
below in lower and outer thirds unarmed; at 
midsection the margins with prickles 1.5-3. 5 
mm long, 10-17 mm apart, arcuate subulate, 
appressed ascending; the midrib below narrow, 
sharp, with prickles 2-3 mm long, 18-35 mm 
apart, slender subulate, closely appressed 
ascending; the apex almost unarmed; pistillate 
plant blooming in late October or early No- 
vember, with 1-2 terminal syncarps; when ripe 
the syncarps 10-13 cm in diameter, broadly 
ellipsoid, 3-sided, green, at maturity the core in 
a few days shrinks to a remnant 7 cm long, 
2.5 cm in diameter, and the drupes fall in a 
mass; drupes very numerous, 31-35 mm long, 
the abundant 1 -celled ones 7-11 mm wide, 6-8 
mm thick, narrowly oblanceoloid, upper l A free, 
5-6-angled, the sides smooth, somewhat shiny, 
gently curving, the apex rounded pyramidal; 
stigma 1.5-2 mm long, broadly ellipsoid, 
creased, flush, oblique, excentric, brown, 
papillose; drupes with 1 cell are the normal, for 
on the holotype (fi) there are 136 such, and 
21 with 2 cells, and 1 short basal one with 3 
cells, while in the isotypic specimen (bri) there 
are 173 with 1 cell, to 32 with 2 cells, and 1 
short basal one with 3 cells. Martelli recorded 
ones with 4 or 5 cells. Of the 2-celled ones, 6 
appeared to have a third stigma, but this was 
actually a corky scar, and the fruits had only 
2 cells. The 2-celled drupes are 10-14 mm wide, 
the apex shallowly lobed, the cleft 1-3 mm 
deep, the stigmas 0.8-1 mm long, ellipsoid to 
obovate, horizontal or oblique, centripetal; the 
single 3-celled drupe (a short basal, asymmetric 
one) 26 mm long, 14 mm wide, 12 mm thick, 
deltoid-oblanceoloid, the stigmas centripetal, 
placed in a triangle; the 1 -celled drupes with the 
endocarp central, bony, pale, the lateral walls 
0.8-1. 3 mm thick, the apex subtruncate; seed 
subcuneate-barrel-shaped, 7-8 mm long; the 
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