Food Plants International

318
Names
English: Scientific name: Pandanus antaresensis St John
Tok pisin: Synonyms:
Tok ples: Plant family: Pandanaceae
Description: A branched screwpine with crowns
normally at the same height. Fruit are large clusters
made up of groups of 5 nuts. The kernels are small and
hard to extract. When ripe the fruit turn red and the
nuts drop individually.
Distribution: It grows in the highlands from about
1600 to 2500 m altitude.
Cultivation: Plants are often self sown but are also planted from seed.
Production: Nuts are usually harvested after they fall. Production is not distinctly seasonal.
The outside fibres are burnt off then the shell splits.
Use: The kernels are eaten.
Food Value: Per 100 g edible portion
Edible
part
Nuts
Insects:
Diseases:
Pests:
Moisture
%
Energy
KJ
Protein
g
Calcium
mg
Iron
mg
proVit A
µg
proVit C
mg
Importance: Although the trees are fairly common in Papua New Guinea, the nuts are not
highly prized because they are hard to extract.
Zinc
mg