Tahitian screwpine
Pandanus tectorius · Pandanaceae
Tahitian screwpine (Pandanus tectorius) is a perennial tree in the Pandanaceae family. It is introduced to North America rather than native. USDA records it as hardy in zone 11 and warmer, down to about 40°F.
At a glance
| Type | tree USDA |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | introduced USDA |
| Mature height | 10 ft USDA |
| Light | part-shade USDA |
| Growth rate | rapid USDA |
| Soil pH | 6–7.5 USDA |
| Flower color | White USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 11 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | understory Derived |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It grows in partial shade. It is recorded on soils from pH 6 to 7.5 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 11; USDA publishes no warm-end limit, so gardeners in warmer zones should check local heat tolerance separately.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 10 ft, making it a mid-sized plant. It grows quickly, which matters when you are timing a planting around the layers above it.
Role in a guild
Understory. In a layered planting this is the layer beneath the canopy, tall enough to hold structure but shaded from above. We derive the layer from the plant's growth habit and mature height using a fixed rule, so the same inputs always produce the same layer.
Tags
Related plants
Similar role and hardiness
- custard apple Annona reticulata
- Chamisso's manfern Cibotium chamissoi
- hapu'u Cibotium glaucum
- lignum-vitae Guaiacum officinale
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol PATE2, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
duration— quoted from USDA PLANTSedible— quoted from USDA PLANTSflower_color— quoted from USDA PLANTSgrowth_habit— quoted from USDA PLANTSgrowth_rate— quoted from USDA PLANTSguild_role— derived by rule from USDA columnsmature_height_ft— quoted from USDA PLANTSnative_status— quoted from USDA PLANTSnitrogen_fixer— quoted from USDA PLANTSpet_safe— quoted from USDA PLANTSph_max— quoted from USDA PLANTSph_min— quoted from USDA PLANTSshade_tolerance— quoted from USDA PLANTStemperature_min_f— quoted from USDA PLANTSzone_min— quoted from USDA PLANTS
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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