Pandanus odorifer, Pookaitha, Kaitha, Screw pine, പൂക്കൈത, കൈത

Family: Pandanaceae
Vernacular names: Pookaitha, Kaitha, പൂക്കൈത, കൈത (Malayalam), Screw pine (English), Ketak (Sanskrit), Kettki (Hindi), Tazhai (Tamil)
Distribution: Tropical and subtropical Asia
Description: Branched shrubs; trunk greyish-brown, ringed by leaf-scars and with basal prop roots. Leaves spirally arranged in 3 rows, linear-ensiform. Female inflorescence a solitary terminal cephalium. Male inflorescence of several spikes, with white or cream axillary bracts, Flowers creamy with yellow spathes. Fruit oblong, red-orange.
Habit: Shrub
Habitat: Mangrove forests and sea coasts
Flowering & Fruiting: July-November

Parts used: Whole plant
Properties & Uses: Leaves are alexiteric, tonic and aphrodisiac; used in leprosy, small-pox, syphilis, scabies and leucoderma. Leaves and spadix are used in diabetes. Oil obtained from the bracts are considered stimulant and antispasmodic and are administered in headache and rheumatism. Root is considered diuretic, depurative and tonic.
Systems of Medicines: Ayurveda, Folk, Unani,
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