In this article we will discuss about:- 1. Characters of Pandanaceae 2. Distribution of Pandanaceae 3. Economic Importance.
Characters of Pandanaceae:
Plants palm-like, stilt roots; dioecious, leaves, linear, sessile, tough, leathery, paniculate or spicate inflorescence; flower unisexual, perianthless.
A. Vegetative characters:
Habit:
Palm-like branched shrubs or trees, supported by silt roots, dioecious.
Root:
Stout aerial prop roots, aerial, when present often actually support the trunk from the ground-stiltroot and are produced also from branches; rarely root climbers.
Stem:
Aerial, erect or bent, branched, stout.
Leaf:
Long, linear sessile keeled with serrate spinous margins and sheathing bases; arranged spirally, 4-ranked and often forming crown at the apex of stem, tough, fibrous and leathery but not fleshy, canaliculate.
B. Floral characters:
Inflorescence:
Paniculate or spicate covered by spathaceous or foliaceous bracts.
Flower:
Unisexual, very simple, perianthless.
Male flower:
Androecium:
Stamens numerous, densely packed or separated or in fasiculate clusters, scattered over a thyrsoid spadix like axis, the filament distinct or connate, anthess bithecous (2-celled the cells sometimes (each one divided), basifixed.
Gynoecium:
Ovary rudimentary or minute or absent.
Female flower:
Androecium:
Staminodes, usually absent, if present, then very small.
Gynoecium:
Pistils numerous, coherent in bundles or isolated, the ovary superior, unilocular, ovules solitary or many, basal or parietal placentation, ovule anatropous, the style short or none; stigma 1, and pistils sometimes united by stigmas.
Fruit:
Syncarp i.e., multiple of berries or drupes, woody – pulpy inside.
Seed:
Small, contains copious oily endosperm, embryo minute.
Pollination:
Entomophilous or anemophilous.
Floral formula:
Distribution of Pandanaceae:
The family having 3 genera with 225 species is distributed in the tropics of the old world, a few are warm temperate. Pandanus is the largest genus having over 150 species distributed along the sea coasts of India and other countries of S. Asia; the luxuriant Pandanus vegetation along the coasts of Bay of Bengal according to Warming is a typical ‘Halophyllous forest’ and bushland or ‘Psamophilous Halophytes’ on sand. Freycinetia is confined to Ceylon, Polynasia, New-Zealand.
Economic Importance of Pandanaceae:
1. Food:
The immature fleshy pericarps of fruits of some species are a source of food.
2. Flavour:
The fragrant flowers of Pandanus tectorius are used in preparation of “Keora water” and “Keora ettar”.
3. Fibres:
The leaves of several species of Pandanus are used in paper-making, hatching; made into hats, mats and umbrellas. The leaves of Pandanus species are valuable for brushes, bristtes, cordage, fishing lines, fishing nets and hunting nets. The fibrous aerial roots are utilised for making corks and for tying baskets.
4. Ornamentals:
Freycinetia banksii, and Pandanus veitchii are ornamentals.
Common plants of the family:
1. Pandanus odoratissimus – screw-pine-gregarious shrub.
2. P. tectorius – Bread-fruit or umbrellen shrub.
3. Freycinetia – Climbing shrub with brightly coloured fleshy bracts.