Meanings
plural screw palms
- The tree Pandanus spindalis, of tropical northern Australia.
A chain of lagoons beautiful with pink and blue water-lilies and noisy with wild duck broke the monotony of the river’s long, dark pools lined with tall cadjuput, Leichhardt pine, and screw palm.
1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 49Synonyms: pandanus palm, screw pine
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe tree Pandanus spindalis, of tropical northern Australia.
Origin
From screw + palm: the leaves are organised in a spiral arrangement and the overall shape of the tree is reminiscent of a palm tree.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
screw palm. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/screw%20palm
“screw palm.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/screw%20palm. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “screw palm,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/screw%20palm.
Source: screw palm on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.