screw pine

noun

: any of a genus (Pandanus of the family Pandanaceae, the screw-pine family) of tropical monocotyledonous Old World trees or shrubs with slender palmlike stems, often huge prop roots, and terminal crowns of swordlike leaves

Examples of screw pine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Red flowers, such as plumeria, and those from the screw pine tree are not to be offered to the god Shiva. Robert J. Stephens, The Conversation, 27 Sep. 2024 From essence of rose and screw pine (known in Hindi as kewra, from the pandanus flower), to a wide range of fruit and herb extracts, including apple, pineapple, orange, coriander and vetiver (the ingredients vary slightly depending on the country of production), Rooh Afza has it all. Charukesi Ramadurai, Bon Appétit, 14 June 2022 Pandanus is a genus of tropical evergreens that grow in Southeast and South Asia, Oceania and Africa, with leaves that tend to rise and arch in a whorl around the stem and bulbous fruit, whose polyp-like knobs evoke a pineapple’s armor — hence the English name, screw pine. New York Times, 6 Sep. 2021 Smoked beef cheek dumplings are a house specialty, and the cocktail offerings include the pandan colada, made with brilliant-green screw pine leaves. Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2021 Along with English ivy everywhere, the expanding repertoire of popular houseplants included schismatoglottis (shown above, right), dracaena, screw pine, grape ivy, and fiddle-leaf fig. Tovah Martin, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Dec. 2022 Pandanus, a small tree from the screw pine genus, grows across warm coastal lowlands and islands in the Asia Pacific region. Emily Matchar, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 July 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1789, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of screw pine was in 1789

Dictionary Entries Near screw pine

Cite this Entry

“Screw pine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/screw%20pine. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.

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