''Pandanus heterocarpus'' is a species of

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 ...

. It is commonly called the "Rodrigues screwpine", known locally as "vacoa parasol" or "vacoa cale rouge". It is

endemic 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 the island of

Rodrigues Rodrigues ( ; Mauritian Creole, Creole: ) is a Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Outer islands of Mauritius, outer island of the Republic of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, about east of Mauritius. It is part of the Mascarene Isl ...

Description

Pandanus heterocarpus at Anse Quitor Nature Reserve 1

The Rodrigues screwpine grows to 7 meters in height, and branches from its thick trunk to form a wide umbrella shape. The many branches are thick and begin to grow from low on the trunk. The rosettes form with clear spirals. The leaves are up to a meter in length and have orange-red spines on their margins and keel. Young plants have large, long rosettes, with longer leaves. Older plants have smaller, shorter rosettes and shorter leaves. The fruit heads are very variable, but are typically rounded and up to 18 cm. Each fruit head has 70 to 95 drupes. The exposed tip of each drupe is a curved pyramid shape, with a green colour, but with purple colour around the base.

Habitat

This species is endemic to the island of

. It occurs throughout the island and is one of the only species of that island that is still common. It is especially common on the lowlands and also near the coast. On the higher mountains it shares its habitat with another endemic, the slender ''

Pandanus tenuifolius ''Pandanus tenuifolius'' ("Vacoa chevron") is a species of plant in the family Pandanaceae. It is Endemism, endemic to the island of Rodrigues. Description This small species grows to 5 meters in height, and grows relatively few branches, at an ...

''. Inhabitants of the island use the leaves of both species for the fibres, and for making roofs, hats or baskets. The introduced exotic species ''

Pandanus utilis ''Pandanus utilis'', the common screwpine is, despite its name, a monocot and not a pine. It is native to Madagascar and naturalised in Mauritius and the Seychelles. Description The trunk features aerial prop roots. The leaves are linear and spi ...

'', from

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, is also found growing in

, and can be confused with this species.Strahm, W. ''Plant Red Data Book for Rodrigues'' Koeltz Scientific Books. 1989.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3553140 heterocarpus Endemic flora of Rodrigues Taxa named by Isaac Bayley Balfour