Screw Pine

an East Indian plant belonging, with fifty other species, to a genus called Pandanus. It is not a pine. The common name has reference to a spiral arrangement of the leaves on the stem, somewhat after the manner of a pineapple. The common screw pine of India bears fragrant flowers from which the maker of perfumes derives a richly scented extract known as keora oil. The fruit is orange-shaped and is edible but without flavor. The leaves are made into matting and sacking. The Indian screw pine is planted along canals to prevent the banks from washing away.