Editing Pandanus (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Pandanus sp.2.jpg|thumb|Aerial, prop roots<ref>{{cite web |title=Types of Roots |publisher=UCLA Mathias Botanical Garden |url=http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/generalbotany/typesofroots/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050906080625/http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/generalbotany/typesofroots/ |archive-date=2005-09-06 |access-date=2005-10-10}}</ref>]]

The species vary in size from small shrubs less than {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=off|frac=2}} tall, to medium-sized trees {{convert|20|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall, typically with a broad canopy, heavy fruit, and moderate growth rate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pandanus Trees in Australia |website=Gondwananet.com |url=http://www.gondwananet.com/pandanus-trees.html |access-date=2012-09-24 |archive-date=2012-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916062012/http://www.gondwananet.com:80/pandanus-trees.html}}<br/>{{webarchive |title=Earlier version |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608191441/http://www.gondwananet.com/pandanus-trees.html |date=2012-06-08}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=June 2024}} The trunk is stout, wide-branching, and ringed with many leaf scars.<ref name="google2">{{cite book |last=Meyen |first=Franz Julius Ferdinand |url={{Google books |id=adE8AAAAYAAJ |page=113 |plainurl=yes }} |title=Outlines of the Geography of Plants: With Particular Enquiries Concerning the Native Country, the Culture, and the Uses of the Principal Cultivated Plants on which the Prosperity of Nations is Based, Volumen 7 |publisher=Ray Society |year=1846 |access-date=2012-09-24}}</ref> Mature plants can have branches.<ref name="google2" /> Depending on the species, the trunk can be smooth, rough, or warty.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pandanus |publisher=Stumpman.com.au |url=http://www.stumpman.com.au/wp-content/uploads/P.tectorius-pandanus.pdf |access-date=18 December 2014 |archive-date=29 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129034913/http://www.stumpman.com.au/wp-content/uploads/P.tectorius-pandanus.pdf}}</ref> The roots form a pyramidal tract to hold the trunk.<ref name="wiley1953" /> They commonly have many thick stilt roots near the base, which provide support as the tree grows top-heavy with leaves, fruit, and branches.<ref name="Ugolino Martelli 1908 59–72">{{cite journal |author=Ugolino Martelli |year=1908 |title=The Philippine species of ''Pandanus'' |journal=Philippine Journal of Science |volume=3 |issue=2 |pages=59–72 |url=https://archive.org/stream/scphilippinejour03maniuoft#page/58/mode/2up}}</ref> These roots are [[adventitiousness|adventitious]] and often branched. The top of the plant has one or more crowns of strap-shaped leaves that may be spiny,<ref name="Hyndman" /><ref name="hawaii1" /> varying between species from {{convert|30|cm|in|abbr=off}} to {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on|frac=2}} or longer, and from {{convert|1.5|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=8}} up to {{convert|10|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=4}} broad.

They are [[dioecious]], with male and female flowers produced on different plants. The flowers of the male tree are {{convert|2|-|3|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=4}} long and fragrant, surrounded by narrow, white bracts. The female tree produces flowers with round fruits that are also bract-surrounded.  The individual fruit is a [[drupe]], and these merge to varying degrees forming [[multiple fruit]], a globule structure, {{convert|10|-|20|cm|in|abbr=on|frac=2}} in diameter and have many prism-like sections, resembling the fruit of the pineapple. Typically, the fruit changes from green to bright orange or red as it matures. The fruits can stay on the tree for more than 12 months.