Screwpines of Kerala

Screwpines are also called Pandanus.  It is used for making mats, wall hangings, baskets. The screwpines or Pandanus are called 'Kaitha' or 'ola kaitha' in Malayalam vernacular. It is commonly known as pandan or pandanus. it belongs to Pandanacea family. The leaves are sword like, thin and long, with a rough green surface.  The leaf blades are thorny. The screwpine is a monocot and flowering plant.  Monocots are grass or grass like flowering plants. It grows by the side of rivers, rivulets, springs, streams and canals.  It prevents soil erosion, and protect water bodies. The fleshy green plants are peeled into thin strips, dried in the sun and then diagonally pleated or thatched to make mats and holdings.  

Screwpines are shrubs, trees, or vines belonging to the family of Pandanaceae in the order Pandanales. It is found in wet riverside, and coastal forests.  Some of the toponyms in Kerala are marked by its vernacular name like Kaithapoyil and Kaithavalapu.

Leaves, roots, and the fiber obtained from its stem are of medicinal value. A mat called thazhapaya is made out of the leaves of screwpines.  After removing the thorns on the blades of the leaf, they are cut into strips of equal width, rolled and dried in sunlight.  Then it is dipped in the water to soften it before pleating it into required sizes of mats. These mats are used for drying paddy in the sunlight or as a bed to sleep.

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