Screwpine

Pandanus spiralis

''Pandanus spiralis'' is native to northern Australia. It is commonly called common screwpine, iidool, pandanus palm, screw pine, screw palm or spring pandanus. It is neither a true palm, nor a pine.
Fruit of screw pine - Pandanus spiralis  Australia,Geotagged,Pandanus spiralis,Winter

Appearance

''Pandanus spiralis'' is a shrub or small tree up to 10 metres in height. It has long, spiny leaves organised in a spiral arrangement. The plant bears a large, pineapple-like cluster of fruit that turn orange-red when ripe.

Wildlife including birds take advantage of the spiny leaves by living in the tree for protection. They also favor its fruit.
Screw pine - Pandanus spiralis Growing in coastal reserves.  Australia,Geotagged,Pandanus spiralis,Winter

Distribution

''Pandanus spiralis'' occurs in Queensland, The Northern Territory and the extreme north of Western Australia.

The plant is most commonly found growing along watercourses or coastal fringes and dune systems.
Screw pine - Pandanus spiralis Showing a ripe fruit and unripe fruit Australia,Geotagged,Pandanus spiralis,Screwpine,Winter

Uses

The leaves of ''P. spiralis'' can be used to weave neckbands and armbands. The fibre of the leaves can be used as string for dillybags. Other uses include baskets, mats, and shelters. In addition, mashed leaves can be used to cure headaches when tied around the head. The Burarra people use the plant to make fish traps.

The fruit's seeds can also be ground to make flour....hieroglyph snipped...

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Taxonomy
KingdomPlantae
DivisionAngiosperms
ClassMonocots
OrderPandanales
FamilyPandanaceae
GenusPandanus
SpeciesP. spiralis
Photographed in
Australia