Trees
Pandanus
jajikalPandanus spiralis (as identified by Anderson 1996); the beach pandan is Pandanus tectorius
Jajikal is the pandanus or screw palm[1], the spiky, prop-rooted tree of the beaches and creek banks. Its name is written into the country: the lower camp at Ayton, 'where there are lots of pandanus trees', is called Jajikal, and the dictionary also gives Jajikal for the north side of the Bloomfield River mouth[1]. At Bloomfield the fruit was baked in the ashes and the hard shell broken to get at the seeds[2]. Roth recorded that ripe fruit was sucked, while fruit not fully ripe had to be roasted first because raw it was too 'hot'[3]. The leaves were split for armlets, plaited work and toys[4][2].
Hann River Cape York
Possum People's country on the upper river and Thaypan (Kuku Thaypan) country downstream: stringybark and bloodwood woodland and a spring-fed sandy river that runs north-east from the Great Dividing Range, past the Peninsula Developmental Road, into Rinyirru (Lakefield) and the North Kennedy. Not Kuku Yalanji country: the Kuku Yalanji words on this page are the dictionary's, not the Hann's own languages. Place guide
Pandanus grows in the Hann's country. The Atlas of Living Australia holds 38 pandanus records, from 1970 to 2024, in a box of about 90 × 85 km around the middle Hann, Laura and western Rinyirru: most are Pandanus cookii, with a few of the inland P. spiralis[12]. No pandanus use is published for the Hann itself; the nearest records are Roth's, from the Princess Charlotte Bay hinterland the river drains into, and from Musgrave[9][4].
Where it grows here
Pandanus cookii is 'endemic to coastal and sub-coastal parts of tropical Queensland' and grows to about 10 m[13]; it is 24 of the 38 Atlas records in the Hann box. P. spiralis, with 5 records, grows in 'savannah woodlands and poorly drained areas'[6]. The box holds a single record of the beach pandan, P. tectorius, the tree of the Bloomfield beaches[12][5].
How people used it here
These records are Roth's, from about 1900, labelled by place:
- The fruit. Roth's pandanus entry, the fruit 'sucked, shell broken, and seed eaten', gives the names of two Princess Charlotte Bay peoples: Koko-rarmul a-rárla and Koko-warra arú-ol[3].
- The hammer. A hafted stone hammer was used 'for breaking open some of the harder nuts, e.g., pandanus'. Roth wrote: 'I found the implement in use throughout the Princess Charlotte Bay hinterland, in 1898'[9].
- The leaves. Pandanus leaves were split 'for plaitwork (Musgrave, Cape Bedford, etc.)'[4]. Musgrave Station is in today's Thaypan determination area[14]. At Princess Charlotte Bay the women, 'and especially the younger girls', wore a necklace, al-würa, 'formed of strips of Pandanus leaf worked into a plait of from three to five strands'. The Koko-warra name for the pandanus-strip armlet was raual[7].
- The frame. North of the Palmer, which takes in the Hann, ridge-pole huts stood on forked uprights 'very commonly of Pandanus'[8].
On country today
The upper Hann is the Possum People's country[15]; the middle and lower Hann are in the Thaypan native title determination of November 2023, held by the Awu-Laya Indigenous Corporation[14]. Downstream, Rinyirru is jointly managed by the Rinyirru Aboriginal Corporation and the Queensland Government[16]. Ask them before taking fruit or leaves.
Language
In Kuku Thaypan, the language of the middle and lower Hann, the pandanus (Pandanus spiralis) is arral[17]. Roth's Princess Charlotte Bay names are under 'How people used it here'.
Upper Mitchell Western Yalanji
Western Yalanji country west of the Great Dividing Range: dry open woodland cut by the sandy, paperbark-lined upper Mitchell River, around Karma Waters and Mount Carbine. Place guide
Pandanus is part of Western Yalanji country too: the inland Pandanus spiralis is recorded at Mount Carbine, and Edward Palmer reported pandanus fruit as a food on the Mitchell and Palmer rivers[18][3].
Where it grows here
Inland, pandanus lines the creeks and rivers. The Queensland WildNet database records Pandanus spiralis at Mount Carbine[18]; Roth recorded a Koko-yellanji name for pandanus at Butcher's Hill, inland[3]; and Edward Palmer, quoted by Roth, reported pandanus fruit as a food on the Mitchell and Palmer Rivers[3].
Uses here
On the Middle Palmer, Roth found pandanus leaves split for sieve-bags[4], and the Koko-minni there called the plant, and the pandanus-strip armlet made from it, anjoana[7]. He saw the stone hammer that breaks open pandanus nuts in use on the Palmer in 1899[9].
Eastern coast Eastern Kuku Yalanji
Eastern Kuku Yalanji country: rainforest, beaches, mangroves, reef and the short steep rivers from the Daintree to the Bloomfield and the Annan.
On Eastern Kuku Yalanji country jajikal is the beach pandan of Ayton, the Bloomfield mouth and the coves where people kept their permanent camps[2].
Uses here
At Bloomfield, jajikal fruit was baked in the ashes and the shell broken first to get at the seeds; unlike many nuts it needed no pounding or leaching[2].
On country today
Much of Eastern Kuku Yalanji country is now Aboriginal land. On 29 September 2021 more than 160,000 ha, taking in the Daintree, Ngalba-bulal, Kalkajaka and Hope Islands national parks between Mossman and Cooktown, was handed back to the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people, to be jointly managed with the Queensland Government through the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service[19].
Everywhere
Names
The dictionary gives jajikal, 'pandanus tree (screw palm)' and 'pandanus palm'[1]. It records the word as a place name too: the 'name of lower (bottom) camp in Ayton where there are lots of pandanus trees', and the 'north side of Bloomfield River mouth'[1]. Anderson's table of Bloomfield nut foods lists jajikal as Pandanus spiralis[2].
Roth's 1901 list gives a different Bloomfield word, jillenji, for the pandanus fruit, and na-rarl from the Koko-yellanji at Butcher's Hill[3]. Neither matches jajikal, and jillenji looks more like the dictionary's jilanji, an edible fig. Whether Roth's informant mixed them up, or used a word for the fruit alone, is a question for Elders.
Description
The beach pandan (Pandanus tectorius) grows to about 12 m, with a branched trunk studded with spiny, wart-like knobs and stilt-like prop roots up to 1 m long, themselves armed with short sharp points[5]. The long, strap-like leaves are up to 1.7 m long and 5–10 cm wide; the margins carry spines from just above the base to the tip[5]. The fruit is a big yellow or orange head, about 12–18 cm long, built from many hard, wedge-shaped segments, each about 4–5 cm long[5].
Where it grows
The beach pandan grows from sea level to 300 m in littoral rainforest, on sand dunes and coastal sandy country and in vine forest, from Cape York to central New South Wales[5].
Inland, pandanus lines creeks and rivers: Pandanus spiralis grows in 'savannah woodlands and poorly drained areas', on 'sand, alluvium and clay', across northern Queensland, the Northern Territory and the far north of Western Australia[6]. Which pandanus grows where is set out under each place above.
Uses
Food. Roth's general entry for pandanus, which carries a Bloomfield name, says the fruit is sucked, the shell broken and the seed eaten, and that the roasted fruit can be soaked to make a sweet drink[3].
Leaves. Across North Queensland, Roth found pandanus leaves split for armlets (plain or plaited), plait-work, dilly-bag handles and sieve-bags, and used to smooth the gum-cement on spear barbs at Cooktown[4]. The pandanus-strip armlet was worn as far south on the east coast as the Bloomfield River[7], and Anderson confirms that Bloomfield people wore pandanus-leaf armlets[2]. Children made small toy boomerangs from pandanus leaves[2], and pandanus leaves made the little trough that fed water into the zamia flour during leaching[2].
Building. North of the Palmer River, Roth saw huts built on a ridge-pole held up by forked uprights, 'very commonly of Pandanus, the dichotomous growth of which lends itself admirably for the purpose'[8].
How it was prepared
Eating the fruit — from Roth's pandanus entry[3] and Anderson's Bloomfield table[2]:
- Collect the fruit segments from a ripe yellow-orange head.
- If the fruit is very ripe, suck the soft base of each segment raw.
- If it is not fully ripe, roast or bake the segments in the ashes first. Raw, unripe fruit is too 'hot' to suck.
- For a sweet drink, soak the roasted segments in water. The water becomes sweet and is drunk.
- Break the hard shell and eat the seeds inside. In the Princess Charlotte Bay hinterland and on the Palmer River, Roth saw a hafted stone hammer used to break open hard nuts such as pandanus[9].
Making a simple leaf armlet — Roth's description from Cape Bedford and the Palmer district[4]:
- Cut a strip of pandanus leaf, square at one end and tapering obliquely to a narrow end at the other.
- Split the narrow end into four, six or more tags, all to the same depth.
- Roll the square end around the hand two or three times and slip the coil off, holding it between thumb and forefinger.
- With a sharpened stick, pierce small holes through the layers, one for each tag.
- Pull each tag through its hole, knot the tags underneath in pairs, and trim the ends.
Roth adds that people sometimes just tied the ends instead[7].
Safety
Pandanus is well armed: the leaf margins carry sharp spines, and even the prop roots are studded with short sharp points[5]. Handle the leaves with care. Fruit that is not fully ripe is too 'hot' to suck raw, which is why it was roasted first[3]. The seed cases are very hard and were broken with stones[9].
On Country today
Pandanus is not listed as threatened; as native plants the pandanus species here are 'least concern' wildlife under Queensland's Nature Conservation Act[10]. Under section 211 of the Native Title Act 1993, native title holders do not need a licence or permit to hunt, fish or gather for their personal, domestic or non-commercial communal needs[11]. Everyone else needs the Traditional Owners' permission to take anything from country, and park rules apply: see each place above for whose country it is.
Language
Related words: jalngkal 'to remove a hard or tough covering, e.g. a coconut'; dalkil 'to crack a nut'; jangka 'stone'; dindal 'to roast on coals'; munja-l 'to gather, collect (e.g. nuts, plant food)'[1].
Images
References
- Hershberger, H. D. & Hershberger, R. (1982). Kuku-Yalanji Dictionary. Work Papers of SIL-AAB, Series B, Volume 7. With Toby Bloomfield, Roy Friday, Billy Roberts, Hector and Doris Sykes, Joe Walker and others. www.sil.org/resources/archives/18038
- Anderson, C. (1996). Traditional material culture of the Kuku-Yalanji of Bloomfield River, North Queensland. Records of the South Australian Museum 29(1): 63–83. — Table 2, nut species eaten at Bloomfield; 'Preparation of cycad nuts'; games; decoration hdl.handle.net/2440/13994
- Roth, W. E. (1901). North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No. 3: Food — its search, capture, and preparation. Brisbane: Government Printer. Bloomfield River information from R. Hislop. — Plant list, 'Pandanus aquaticus' and 'Pandanus sp.' archive.org/details/northqueensland00landgoog
- Roth, W. E. (1901). North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No. 1: String, and other forms of strand; basketry-, woven bag-, and net-work. Brisbane: Government Printer. — Sect. 8(e), splitting; plant list, 'Pandanus sp.' archive.org/details/northqueensland00landgoog
- Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants (RFK8), Pandanus tectorius. CSIRO / Lucidcentral. apps.lucidcentral.org/rainforest/text/entities/Pandanus_tectorius.htm
- Wikipedia. Pandanus spiralis (accessed 28 October 2026). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus_spiralis
- Roth, W. E. (1910). North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No. 15: Decoration, deformation, and clothing. Records of the Australian Museum 8(1). — Sect. 27, necklaces (Princess Charlotte Bay); pandanus-strip armlet archive.org/details/biostor-52864
- Roth, W. E. (1910). North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No. 16: Huts and shelters. Records of the Australian Museum 8(1): 55–66. — Sect. 11, ridge-pole huts archive.org/details/records-australian-museum-8-055-066
- Roth, W. E. (1904). North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No. 7: Domestic implements, arts, and manufactures. Brisbane: Government Printer. Bloomfield River information from R. Hislop. — Sect. 37, stone hammers (Princess Charlotte Bay hinterland 1898, Palmer 1899) archive.org/details/northqueensland00landgoog
- Nature Conservation (Plants) Regulation 2020 (Qld), current as at 22 May 2026. — Sch. 1 pt 2 div 7 s 25 (least concern wildlife); sch. 2 (special least concern plants) www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/current/sl-2020-0137
- Australian Law Reform Commission. Review of the Native Title Act 1993 (DP 82), ch. 8: Relevant provisions in the Native Title Act (s 211). www.alrc.gov.au/publication/review-of-the-native-title-act-1993-dp-82/8-the-nature-and-content-of-native-title/relevant-provisions-in-the-native-title-act/
- Atlas of Living Australia. Occurrence records of the genus Pandanus (38 records, 1970–2024: P. cookii 24, P. spiralis 5, P. tectorius 1, the rest not named to species) in a box of about 90 × 85 km around the middle Hann River, Laura and western Rinyirru (lat −15.6 to −14.8, long 143.5 to 144.3), queried 28 October 2026. biocache.ala.org.au/occurrences/search?q=genus%3APandanus&fq=decimalLatitude%3A%5B-15.6%20TO%20-14.8%5D&fq=decimalLongitude%3A%5B143.5%20TO%20144.3%5D
- Wikipedia. Pandanus cookii (accessed 28 October 2026). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandanus_cookii
- Ross on behalf of the Cape York United #1 Claim Group v State of Queensland (No 20) (Thaypan determination) [2023] FCA 1315 (Federal Court of Australia, 2 November 2023). — Determination area and waters; prescribed body corporate (Awu-Laya Indigenous Corporation); affidavit evidence on hunting www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2023/2023fca1315
- Ross on behalf of the Cape York United #1 Claim Group v State of Queensland (No 21) (Possum determination) [2023] FCA 1316 (Federal Court of Australia, 2 November 2023). — Determination area (upper Hann and Kennedy rivers); prescribed body corporate; affidavit evidence on hunting and fishing www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2023/2023fca1316
- Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. Nature, culture and history: Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park (CYPAL) (web page, last updated 1 July 2024; accessed 28 October 2026). parks.qld.gov.au/parks/rinyirru-lakefield/about/culture
- Hunter-Gatherer Language Database (University of Texas at Austin). Lexical feature 'pandanus palm' (Pandanus spiralis): Kuku-Thaypan, Yalanji, Guugu Yimidhirr, Uw-Olkol, Uw-Oykangand (accessed 28 October 2026). huntergatherer.la.utexas.edu/lexical/feature/309
- Queensland WildNet record, Pandanus spiralis, Mount Carbine. Atlas of Living Australia. biocache.ala.org.au/occurrences/0411b128-09fc-43ad-8487-dc4e8205f819
- Australian Geographic (September 2021). Daintree handed back to Traditional Owners. www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2021/09/daintree-handed-back-to-traditional-owners/
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