Screwpine

screwpine also often called pandanus, the common English name of many plants of the genus Pandanus, refers to the twisted stems which they usually exhibit. These plants, of which there are hundreds of species, grow in the tropics from India through SE Asia to N. Australia and Oceania.

Classification of the species is still uncertain. A principal species is P. tectorius (including what was formerly P. odoratissimus), the ‘fragrant screwpine’. Its flowers are the source of keora/kewra essence, used in parts of India and in Sri Lanka as a flavouring. In Australia the fruit pulp was baked and eaten by Aborigines.