Pandanales

Pandanales is an order of flowering plants, with a pantropical distribution.

The APG II system, which places this in the monocots, the order consists of five families:

• Cyclanthaceae
• Pandanaceae
• Stemonaceae
• Triuridaceae
• Velloziaceae

Thus circumscribed, the order includes palm-like trees, shrubs, lianas, and herbs.

In older plant classifications, The circumscription in APG II is a slight change from that in the 1998 APG system, which used the circumscription:

• Cyclanthaceae
• Pandanaceae
• Stemonaceae
• Velloziaceae

The Cronquist system (1981) placed the order in subclass Arecidae in class Liliopsida [=monocotyledons] with only one family:

• Pandanaceae

The Wettstein system (1935) placed the order in class Monocotyledones and used a different circumscription, incorporating:

• Pandanaceae
• Sparganiaceae
• Typhaceae

The Bentham & Hooker system (1883) had a similar order under the name Nudifloreae, incorporating:

• Pandaneae
• Cyclanthaceae
• Typhaceae
• Aroideae
• Lemnaceae

Uses

Several species in this order produce strap-like leaves that are used for basketry; Pandanus (Pandanaceae) is used across Oceania for thatch, basketry, and to make cloth, and Carludovica palmata (Cyclanthaceae) leaves are made into Panama hats.

References

• Missouri Botanical Garden: Pandanales