Back to homepage
Questions? AskAuckland
  

Please select root levels for the menu

NZ Plants

Freycinetia banksii - kiekie

Screw-pine family: Pandanaceae

Freycinetia banksii  is a woody climber that  also forms dense thickets on the ground. The stems form numerous roots which adhere to the host for support. Leaves are crowded at the ends of branches and are long and strap-like with overlapping bases and jagged margins. The tiny flowers are compactly arranged in a distinctive finger-like terminal stem (spadix) surrounded by several  large showy and fleshy bracts (spathes). Freycinetia is a large genus of about 200 species most of which are in the Old World tropics. It is named after the French navigator and explorer, Louis de Freycinet (1779-1842). This species is named after the English naturalist, Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820).
An endemic species found in both North and South Islands. 

The leaves and aerial roots are a source of fibre


 

Vegetative characteristics

Reproductive characteristics

Plant form: woody vine

Arrangement of parts: symmetric
 

Flower size: male 1-2 mm diam; female 4-8 mm diam.

Leaf form: undivided, long, linear

Sepals: 0

Leaf size: 0.5-1 m

Petals: 0

Leaf arrangement: singly along stem

Sexuality: unisexual on different plants

Leaf attachment: sheathing

Stamens:1-2

Leaf margin: fine teeth

Ovary: above  

Leaf surface: hairless

Fruit: fleshy


Share Print Email