Thatch screwpine

Pandanus fed Nauruans through long droughts – its fruit can be eaten raw, cooked, or dried and stored.

The thatch screwpine is a small tree whose trunk is propped up on slanting stilt roots, with long, spiny leaves arranged in spirals at the ends of the branches. Its heavy, pineapple-like fruit heads break up into orange segments with a sweet, fibrous base. The fruit can be eaten raw, or cooked and dried into a long-lasting paste. The leaves are woven into mats, baskets and thatch, and the plant copes superbly with drought and salty winds.

Significance in the country

Nauru is hit by long droughts, and in such times pandanus was one of the few reliable sources of food. Weaving its leaves is still a living craft tradition among Nauruan women.

Where it grows

On the coastal strip around the island and near houses; it also grows on the edges of the plateau and around Buada Lagoon.

According to the World Checklist of Vascular Plants (Kew), the species is native to this country. Source and licence

More: Wikipedia (en) Wikipedia (pl) Plants of the World Online (Kew)