- Family : ARECACEAE
(Palm Family)
- Family (Hindi name) : NARIYAL FAMILY (नारियल फैमिली)
- Family (as per The APG System IV) : Arecaceae
- Synonym(s) : Pandanus thwaitesii Martelli; Pandanus foetidus var. racemosus Trimen
- Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Benstonea thwaitesii (Martelli) Callm. & Buerki
- Habit : Palm
- Key identification features : Densely branched shrub, 3-6ft, prostrate soboliferous stem; Leaves 4-6ft long, 3-4inches wide, thickly coriaceous, glaucous green, glossy above, closely minutely reticulate on both sides with raised venules, margins, midrib spinous, spines incurved or recurved on the midrib; Male inflorescence short, flexuous, pendulous rhachis, spathes yellow, glossy, with spinulose-ciliate margins and midrib, lower spathes upto 1foot long, abruptly acute, Male spadices sessile within the spathes, 6-10 inches long, fleshy rhachilla densely covered with slender, subulate, flexuous anthers; Female inflorescence similar to male but erect, rachis zigzag, spadices 6-7 in number, ovoid, carpels closely packed, free, linear, polygonal, each terminates in a stiff sharp beak with a narrow stigmatic line from apex to base; Fruit syncarp, 5-7 in pendulous cluster, sessile, globose or ovoid, subtrigonous, surface prickly, glaucous yellowish green, fetid, carpels connate below by glutinous pericarps, crown angular, each terminated by spinescent upcurved stigmas.
- Distribution :
- Goa : Goa
- Karnataka : Karnataka
- Kerala : Kerala
- Maharashtra : Maharashtra
- Tamil Nadu : Tamil Nadu
- Native : India, Sri Lanka
- Exotic/Native : Native
- World Distribution : India, Sri Lanka
- Literature :
- A.A.Mao, & Sudhansu Sekhar Dash (Eds.). (2020). Flowering Plants of India An annotated checklist Monocotyledons. Director, Botanical Survey of India.
- Read more :
- Permalink : https://indiatrees-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Benstonea thwaitesii
- Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Trees and Vegetation Types. Benstonea thwaitesii. Downloaded on 3 October 2026.
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