screw pine

American  

noun

1. any tropical Asian tree or shrub of the genus Pandanus, having a palmlike or branched stem, long, narrow, rigid, spirally arranged leaves and aerial roots, and bearing an edible fruit.

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screw pine British  

noun

1. any of various pandanaceous plants of the Old World tropical genus Pandanus, having a spiral mass of pineapple-like leaves and heavy conelike fruits

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Etymology

Origin of screw pine

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Smoked beef cheek dumplings are a house specialty, and the cocktail offerings include the pandan colada, made with brilliant-green screw pine leaves.

From Washington Post • Aug. 18, 2021

Pandanus utilis.—The screw pine of the Mauritius, where it is largely cultivated for its leaves, which are manufactured into bags or sacks for the exportation of sugar.

From Catalogue of Economic Plants in the Collection of the U. S. Department of Agriculture by Saunders, William

Among the other materials may be enumerated the odorous roots of the khus-khus grass, Anatherum muricatum, and the leaves of various species of screw pine, used in India and the East generally.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3 "Banks" to "Bassoon" by Various

No palms have been recognised with certainty, but the genus Pandanus, or screw pine, has been distinctly made out.

From The Student's Elements of Geology by Lyell, Charles, Sir

For nearly a hundred yards there was a clear stretch of water flowing between low, grassy banks on which were growing a few scattered pandanus-palms—the screw pine.

From "Martin Of Nitendi"; and The River Of Dreams 1901 by Becke, Louis