Pandanus tectorius | Hala, Fala, Kaina, & The Pineapple Tree
A remarkable evolutionary tale and the second most useful tree in the Pacific
Introduction
Pandanus tectorius and its close relatives are common coastal trees in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Basic Biology
The genus Pandanus is unusual in the plant world in that all members are dioecious—a tree is either male or female.
Male trees produce fragrant, white-bracted spikes consisting of thousands of male flowers that produce copious amounts of pollen.
Male Flowers
Male flowers consist only of stamen, the pollen-producing structure of the flower.
Pollination
Pandanus is pollinated by a wide variety of animals and even by the wind.
Female Trees
Inconspicuous flowers composed only of stigma form on a small round disk that will grow into the large infructescence made up of many fruits, called keys. These large fruit clusters can resemble pineapples, which is why Pandanus are sometimes called "Pineapple trees."
Germination
Each of these keys contains one to many seeds, each of which can germinate to form a new plant.
Walking Roots
Pandanus is sometimes called a “Walking tree” for its prop roots that give the impression of a tree standing on stilts. These roots support the heavy crown of branches and leaves and are useful in unstable habitats such as rocky hillsides, shifting coastal sands, and wetlands.
PROTECTION: Leaves have sharp, prickly margins to protect against herbivores.
Adaptations
The fruit has buoyant tissue which allows it to float for months. This is how the genus has spread across the Indian and Pacific Oceans to nearly every tropical shore.
Pandanus tectorius has evolved numerous strategies to survive in hostile environments. Their fruit has both inner and outer seeds protected by a hard, bony endocarp. While the outer seeds may be eaten by seed predators, the inner seeds usually remain untouched. Having numerous seeds in a fruit also increases the chances of both a male and female plant establishing in a new location.
Uses & Culture: Medicine
Nearly every part of the plant has a use and More uses have been recorded from Pandanus than from any other tree except for Coconut. For example, the aerial root tips, with their papery caps removed, are used medicinally, both internally and externally.
Uses and Culture: Fruit
The fruit of wild plants are small and unpalatable when raw. On the atolls of the Pacific, Pandanus has been domesticated and the fruit are large, and delicious. Pandanus is a staple food in Kiribati, Tokelau, Tuvalu, and the Marshall Islands.
Uses & Culture - Fiber
The leaves of Pandanus were—and continue to be—the most widely-used natural fiber material in Oceania. Tall stems were used to build houses. Leaves were used for plaiting a wide variety of objects—mats, baskets, hats, fans, and ornaments, and for thatching the roofs of houses.
Preparing Hala Leaves
Preparing the leaves (lauhala in Hawaiian) for use is laborious. Leaves are carefully selected, cleaned, flattened and made pliable. The prickly margins are removed and the leaves are cut into strips of various sizes.
Model of a Polyneisan canoe by Timothy GallaherBernice Pauahi Bishop Museum
Sails
The most important use of Pandanus may be in the production of sails for voyaging canoes. Pandanus was the only natural fiber material durable enough to be used as sails for crossing the open ocean.
Bishop Museum Botany Department.
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