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''Pandanus eydouxia'' is a species of
A tall (10-12m) branching tree that forms a wide, domed canopy. The 20–25 cm wide trunk is grey and cracked, while younger stems bear brown leaf-scars. The stems are lined with many small, sharp knobs.
The leaves are long, drooping and glaucous-green to yellow-green with more brownish bases. Leaf margins are lined with tiny, mild, white spines that can age to a yellow or brown. The leaf midrib also has spines, but not near the base.
This species is most easily distinguished by its very large (20–25 cm), rounded fruit-head, that is held up erect on a short peduncle that is densely covered in protective bracts. Each fruit-head holds 15-25 drupes, that are flat-topped and covered in stigmas, but otherwise variable in shape.
The half or third of the drupe, that is inside the fruit-head, becomes orange or red when ripe. Each drupe holds a large number (over 50) of carpels.
plant
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
in the family Pandanaceae
Pandanaceae is a family of flowering plants native to the tropics and subtropics of the Old World, from West Africa to the Pacific. It contains 982 known species in five genera, of which the type genus, ''Pandanus'', is the most important, with s ...
, endemic to Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
.
Description
A tall (10-12m) branching tree that forms a wide, domed canopy. The 20–25 cm wide trunk is grey and cracked, while younger stems bear brown leaf-scars. The stems are lined with many small, sharp knobs.
The leaves are long, drooping and glaucous-green to yellow-green with more brownish bases. Leaf margins are lined with tiny, mild, white spines that can age to a yellow or brown. The leaf midrib also has spines, but not near the base.
This species is most easily distinguished by its very large (20–25 cm), rounded fruit-head, that is held up erect on a short peduncle that is densely covered in protective bracts. Each fruit-head holds 15-25 drupes, that are flat-topped and covered in stigmas, but otherwise variable in shape.
The half or third of the drupe, that is inside the fruit-head, becomes orange or red when ripe. Each drupe holds a large number (over 50) of carpels.
Habitat
It isendemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
, and is likely the most common endemic species still occurring on that island, especially in the wetter highlands. Large clumps can still be found by rivers and in thickets.Roskov Y., Abucay L., Orrell T., Nicolson D., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., DeWalt R.E., Decock W., De Wever A., Nieukerken E. van, Zarucchi J., Penev L., eds. (2018). ''Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life'', 20 December 2017. Digital resource at www.catalogueoflife.org/col. Species 2000: Naturalis, Leiden, the Netherlands. ISSN 2405-8858.
References
eydouxia Endemic flora of Mauritius Taxa named by Isaac Bayley Balfour {{Pandanales-stub