Research Guides: Traditional Pacific Island Crops: Pandanus

Key Web Resources for Pandanus (Pandanus tectorius)

The genus Pandanus has about 600 species that are found from West Africa eastward to Hawaii. Pandanus tectorius is a highly variable species complex that grows in coastal ecosystems from Southeast Asia eastward throughout all the Pacific islands. In addition to these naturally occurring pandanus forms, there are many traditional named varieties that have been selected and propagated by various indigenous island groups throughout the Pacific.

Pandanus is very important in Pacific culture and tradition. All parts of the plant are used, but pandanus are particularly noted for food products and weaving materials. Some locally important forms have particularly nutritious, edible fruits. Pandanus cultivation is generally non-commercial and the plants are only grown for local use.

IN THIS BOX are links to COMPREHENSIVE or OVERVIEW web resources on this crop.

For web resources on SPECIFIC TOPICS, select the appropriate category in the BOX BELOW.

Pandanus tectorius (Pandanus)
(L.A.J. Thomson, L. Englberger, L. Guarino, R.R. Thaman, and C. Elevitch. 2006. Species Profiles for Pacific Island Agroforestry) Comprehensive monograph on pandanus in the Pacific. Covers botany, genetics, growing conditions, propagation, uses and products especially in the Pacific, and agroforestry applications; includes references. (2.2 Mb PDF file)

Specific Topics for Pandanus (Pandanus tectorius)

Cultivar Recognition in Micronesia: Banana, Breadfruit, Giant Swamp Taro and Pandanus
(Lois Englberger, Maureen H. Fitzgerald, et al. 2005. Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter 142:1-9) This paper reports on a study that was carried out in FSM to explore community cultivar recognition of selected staple foods that may represent familiarity with these foods and could potentially contribute to a healthy diet. The study focused on banana, breadfruit, giant swamp taro and pandanus, the FSM staple foods with the greatest carotenoid potential.

Propagation Protocol for Vegetative Production of Container Pandanus tectorius Plants
(Pius Liyagel. 2005. Native Plant Network) This protocol covers vegetative propagation of pandanus from softwood stem cuttings using 3L (1 gal) polybags.
Propagation Protocol for Production of Container Pandanus tectorius Plants
(Pius Liyagel. 2005. Native Plant Network) This protocol covers propagation of pandanus from seed using 3L (1 gal) polybags.
Propagation Protocol for Production of Container Pandanus tectorius Plants
(Craig R. Elevitch and Kim M. Wilkinson. 2003. Native Plant Network) This protocol covers propagation of pandanus from seed.

The Pacific Islands Pest List Database
(Secretary of the Pacific Community) This database contains records of pests and diseases that are currently known to affect agriculture, forestry and the environment in Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs). Country pest lists are currently available for Samoa, Tonga, Niue, French Polynesia, Fiji, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, FSM, Palau and Marshall Islands. The database can be also be searched by crop; use either English common name or botanical name. The database contains records for all of the crops covered by this Web site.
Plant Pests and Insects Publications (Agricultural Pests of the Pacific)
(ADAP Project. 2000) Leaflet series with color photographs of insect pests and crop damage. Includes pests of banana, betel nut, breadfruit, cassava, coconut, kava, pandanus, sugarcane, sweet potato, and taro. All available in PDF format.

Traditional Post-harvest Technology of Perishable Tropical Staples
(Pamela A. Lancaster and D.G. Coursey. 1984. FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin No. 59) This Bulletin reviews the limited amount of information that has been recorded relating to the post-harvest technologies of the perishable, non-grain staple foods that have been developed in the traditional societies of the developing countries of the tropics. These foods are derived primarily from the tropical root crops cassava, yam, sweet potato and the various aroids; from fruit such as banana and breadfruit; and from the starches in pandanus and sago; includes references.

Community Food System Data Tables - Mand, Pohnpei
(Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment, McGill University) The data presented in the Pohnpei Datatable (available as a pdf file) are on nutrient content for a selection of Pohnpei foods that have been analyzed and identified as rich sources of nutrients. A focus was made on those foods and varieties having cultural importance. These included seeded and unseeded breadfruit, giant swamp taro, banana, pandanus, and several kinds of fish. Click on the link in the Notes on food components section to download the PDF file.
Pacific Pandanus Fruit: An Ethnographic Approach to Understanding an Overlooked Source of Provitamin A Carotenoids.
(Lois Englberger, Maureen H. Fitzgerald and Georff C. Marks. 2003. Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 12(1): 38-44) Commonly recommended plant sources of provitamin A, such as dark green leafy vegetables, are not acceptable in many population groups. The objective of this study was to identify other indigenous foods that may be effectively promoted to alleviate vitamin A deficiency (VAD) and to gather information relevant to identification, production, acquisition, and consumption of foods relevant to a food-based VAD prevention strategy in the Federated States of Micronesia. Several orange-coloured pandanus cultivars, all highly acceptable, contained high levels of carotenoid, almost meeting daily requirements in usual consumption patterns, whereas light yellow-coloured cultivars contained low levels. (285 Kb PDF file)
The Pacific Islands Food Composition Tables, 2nd ed.
(Cecily Dignan, Barbara Burlingame, Shailesh Kumar and William Aalbersberg. 2004. FAO) Food tables for a large variety of foods consumed in Pacific Islands. There are 22 nutrients in the main body of the tables, which are presented in a fixed format for each record. The order of presentation is based on major nutrient categories and convention.

The Fruits We Eat
(Mele’ofa Malolo, Tai’ora Matenga-Smith, and Jimaima Tunidau-Schultz. 2001. Secretariat of the Pacific Community. SPC Handbook) This handbook provides information on selection, storage, preparation, food values, and recipes for commonly available fruits in the Pacific. (2.33 Mb PDF file)
Bōb, Edwaan, Wūnmañ (Pandanus)
(Mark Merlin. Plants & Environments of the Marshall Islands) Briefly covers botany and distribution; discusses traditional Marshallese preparation of pandanus paste (links to a 1.7 Mb PDF file). Links to a separate page that details preparation and preservation of pandanus keys and outlines the nutritional value of pandanus fruit.
Pandanus (Pacific Foods Leaflet No. 6)
(Healthy Pacific Lifestyles Section, SPC. 2006) Covers the use of pandanus as a food; includes nutrient analysis, preparation, and recipes. (1.9 Mb PDF file)
Mokwan ak Jaankun: Dried Pandanus Paste.
(deBrum IH. 2004. Mokwan ak Jaankun: Dried Pandanus Paste. In: Life in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Ed. Loeak AL, Kiluwe VC, and Crowl L. University of the South Pacific Centre/Majuro and Institute of Pacific Studies/University of the South Pacific.) Provides information on processing and nutrition of mokwan. (1.6 Mb PDF file)
Use of Pandanus Fruit As Food in Micronesia
(Carey D. Miller, Mary Murai, and Florence Pen. 1956. Pacific Science 10(1): 3-16) This article provides a brief history of use of pandanus as food in Micronesia, describes making pandanus paste and flour, and the chemical analyses and nutritive values of pandanus fruit raw, cooked, and preserved as paste and flour. (7.0 Mb PDF file)

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Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Land Resources Division
Working in partnership with its 26 members and with regional and international agencies, SPC assists the people of the region by delivering a wide range of technical, research, educational and planning services. The Land Resources Division provides assistance and does research on a variety of Pacific crops including banana, breadfruit, cassava, kava, pandanus, sweet potato, taro and other aroids, and yam. Land Resources Division (LRD) has established an email based Helpdesk system to provide technical advisory support to Pacific Island Countries & Territories (PICTs).
Island Food Community of Pohnpei
Island Food Community of Pohnpei aims to increase self-reliance through traditional food production whilst at the same time protecting the environment through small-scale agroforestry. They provide information resources on Micronesian cultivars of banana, breadfruit, pandanus, and taro and other edible aroids.

PubAg
(National Agricultural Library, USDA) PubAg is a portal to USDA-authored and other highly relevant agricultural research. At launch, it delivered over 40,000 full-text journal articles by USDA staff and includes nearly 450,000 citations. Open access; no login required.
ScholarSpace - UH Manoa
(University of Hawaii at Manoa Library) ScholarSpace is UH Manoa's institutional repository. It provides free Web access to many of the University's publications. It includes both legacy publications and current research papers, journal articles, books, and conference proceedings. All are available in full text as PDF files. Try using the Advanced Search and enter the English common name or the botanical name.
AGRICOLA: 1970 - present
(National Agricultural Library, USDA) Citations, most with abstracts, to journal articles, books, theses, technical reports, and other publications in agriculture and related areas such as nutrition, biotechnology, and botany. Use the Keyword Search and enter the English common name or the botanical name.
AGRIS: 1975 - present
(FAO) International database covering agricultural sciences and technology containing citations for conventional and non-conventional ("grey") literature. Search using the English common name or the botanical name.
PubMed (Medline): 1946 - present
(U.S. National Library of Medicine, NIH) Citations with abstracts for journal articles in biology and medicine including botany and nutrition. Citations may include links to free full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites. Search using the English common name or the botanical name.
Sorting Pandanus Names - Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database
(Snow Barlow. 2005. University of Melbourne) Lists approved botanical names and synonyms and provides common names in a number of languages.

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