screw pine (skroʻpin)

A plant of the genus Pandanus, or more broadly of the order Pandaneæ: so called from the spiral arrangement of the leaves and their resemblance to those of the pineapple. The best-known species is P. odor a ti imus, found from the East Indies to the Pacific islands. Its richly scented male flowers are the source of the keoraoil of perfumers. In India it is sometimes planted for hedges, and to fix the banks of canals. Its leaves and those of made into matting and It has a large compound fruit of a bright-orange color; which is edible, though insipid, and bears the name of breadfruit. See chandelier - tree , and cut under Pandanus . screw-plate (skröʻplāt), n. 1. A holder for the dies used in cutting screw-threads.-2. A small steel plate containing dies by which 5422 screws of various sizes may be formed. See cut under screw - stock.-3. A tool for cutting external screw-threads upon wire, small rods, or pipes. See die - stock, and cut under screw stock. screw-pod, screw-pod mesquit (skrö'pod, skrö'pod mes'kit), n. The screw-bean, Proso pis pubescens. See mesquit. screw-post (skrö'post), n. Naut., the inner stern-post through which the shaft of a screw propeller pa es. screw-pre (skrö'pres), n. A simple form of pre producing pre ure by the direct action of a screw: used by printers and bookbinders for dry-pre ing, or removing the indentations of impre ion from printed sheets, and for making bound books more compact and solid. screw-propeller, n. See screw propeller, under screw. - Screw-propeller governor. See governor. screw-punch (skröʻpunch), n. A punch in IMG:content-0378.png:[blocks in formation]