The strength and the resilience of the Pandanus Trees of Pacific Ocean

This week’s success story is from Ella from Australia. After reporting the trees that she planted in Australia, she continued to share her story about her memories with screw palm and Hala trees.

Ella shares:

“There is a tree that is really special to me. That tree is the Pandanus tectorius, also known as the screwpine, screw palm, Wynnum (South-east Queensland), and hala (Hawaii) tree. Thought to have originated in Queensland, P. tectorius grows on the exposed eastern edge of the Australian continent, often near the hardy coastal she-oak and banksia, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the aquatic home to so many beings. It can be seen on beachfronts from Port Macquarie in New South Wales to Cape York in far north Queensland. It is also native to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and across the Pacific Islands. There are around 750 species of the genus Pandanus in the world.

My brother and I learned to swim at a very early age at the University of Queensland swimming pool, which my parents leased. During holidays, my parents took us on trips to the Noosa National Park, about an hour and a half north of the city of Brisbane. When we got to the beach, my brother and I would run into the water and swim out to catch the biggest waves breaking at the back to bodysurf into shore. When we came in for a break, we would sit under the shade of the pandanus and drip-dry until we were ready to do it all again. I have a visceral memory of the coolness of the shade – the umbrella of spiky pandanus leaves jutting out in all directions above, fringing the radiant blue sky.

When I returned recently and walked the shady path that wends along the headland, I was struck by how unique and majestic pandanus are. In my memory, they are one with the sand, the rocks, the headland, the wind and salt spray, the ocean, and the extraordinary light of the country.

Noosa lies within the traditional country of the Kabi Kabi people. Traditional owner Kerry Jones writes that many of the Dreaming stories about the gathering of the clans involve the sea, rivers, mountains, and plants and animals that live in or near them. The pandanus were always considered important.

Pandanus is a dioecious plant, meaning that female and male flowers grow on separate trees. The female produces a fruit that resembles a pineapple. The colour will change to a deep yellow, orange, or red when ripe. The fibrous segments of the fruit (known as keys) and the seeds contained within can be eaten raw or cooked. Early references reveal that the Kabi Kabi pounded the white seeds within the keys into flour and made damper. P. tectorius may have developed a mechanism for the stress of climate change by adapting to tolerate longer drought periods through reduced but continuous fruiting.

On my recent trip, I saw Pandanus stilt roots that had grown over rock as well as stilt roots that kept the tree upright while much of the underneath sandy soil had eroded. Underground roots can spread up to 20 to 30 metres, providing dune stabilisation.

Uses

In Cape York, artist Rhonda Woolla, a Wik woman of the Putch clan, Aurukun, continues the craft of weaving pandanus into baskets and mats. The art of weaving is passed down through generations and is an important expression of culture and connection to Elders and to Country. Weaving is cultural knowledge held in objects, and both men and women weave.

In the Northern Territory, where Pandanus spirilas is common, weaving continues to be a part of a rich cultural tradition. P. Spirilas is stripped and dried, dyed with natural dyes from fruits, flowers, roots, leaves, and bark, before it is woven into objects like baskets, bags, and mats. The traditional owners of Kakadu, the Bininj / Mungguy, use the core of the pandanus trunk to treat stomach pain, diarrhea, wounds, toothache, and mouth sores.

Weaving pandanus is still practiced right across the Pacific. Traditionally, Polynesians would make outrigger canoes, much like an early version of a modern catamaran, out of the surrounding vegetation. Pandanus leaves were used to create the mainsail.

The leaves of Pandanus amaryllifolius, also known as pandan leaves, are used widely to flavour dishes throughout Southeast Asia. It is sometimes called the “vanilla of Asia” because of the variety of dishes that it flavours, from desserts to savoury dishes. Pandan leaves are used to flavour rice in the national Malaysian dish, Nasi Lemak.

In Hawaiian culture, the hala tree’s ability to anchor itself through its stilt roots in challenging soils is seen as a symbol of strength and resilience. It is considered a guardian of the land, representing the deep spiritual connection between the people and their environment. Now when I encounter the challenges of life, I think of the strength and resilience of the P. tectorius. I am also reminded of the strength and resourcefulness of the traditional owners of Australia and the people of the Pacific.

The P. tectorius is an important tree to me as it is a part of some of my earliest memories of the ocean and the Noosa coastline. It helps to remind me of who I am, the experience of joy exploring the natural world as a child, and my connection to the country. What tree is important to you?