Pandanus elatus
Pandanus elatus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Pandanales |
Family: | Pandanaceae |
Genus: | Pandanus |
Species: | P. elatus
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Binomial name | |
Pandanus elatus |
Pandanus elatus is a dioecious tropical plant in the screwpine genus. It is endemic to Christmas Island, an Australian territory in the north-eastern Indian Ocean. Its specific epithet comes from the Latin elatus (tall), in reference to its growth habit.[2]
Description
[edit]Pandanus elatus is an erect tree, with basal prop roots, that grows to 20 m in height. Its leaves grow to 3 m long and 100 mm wide, dark green and with marginal prickles. The plants do not form the densely tangled thickets that characterise P. christmatensis.[2]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]Found only on Christmas Island, the tree is found on deeper soils in the rainforest, sometimes in small groves.[2]
Taxonomy
[edit]The tree is closely related to P. leram Jones, of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the southern coasts of Sumatra and western Java.[2]
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]Sources
[edit]- Ridley, H.N. (1906). Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 45: 239.
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(help) - "Pandanus elatus Ridl". Flora of Australia Online. Australian Biological Resources Study. 1993. Retrieved 2010-11-23.