Studies in Malesian Pandanaceae XVII on the taxonomy of ‘Pandan Wangi’ A Pandanus cultivar with scented leaves

Abstract

A cultivated, usually sterile species ofPandanus, found rather widely in Malesia (especially in W. Indonesia, Malaya, and the Philippines, but also known in Ceylon), commonly used in cooking, e.g., to flavour rice and jellies, has been called in the past by several different scientific names, and indeed two distinct species were thought to exist. A review of this problem and a study of the plants as they occur in Malaysia, Singapore, and Ceylon, has revealed that in fact only one species is involved; that the ‘large’ and the ‘small’ forms hitherto referred to the two species are merely growth phases of the one; and that the correct botanical name for the plant isPandanus amaryllifolius Roxb. Notes on morphology, nomenclature, and uses of the plant are appended.