Pandanus conoideus
Pandanus conoideus is a plant in the pandan family. Its fruit is eaten in Papua New Guinea and Papua, Indonesia. Papua New Guineans call it "marita". Papuans call them kuansu. Indonesians call them buah merah ("red fruit"). The fruit is typically prepared by splitting it, wrapping it in leaves, and cooking it in an earth oven.
| Pandanus conoideus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Pandanales |
| Family: | Pandanaceae |
| Genus: | Pandanus |
| Species: | P. conoideus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pandanus conoideus | |
It grows all over the Island of New Guinea, Papua New Guinea and West Papua. It is a traditional delicacy.
There are around 30 cultivars of Red Fruit, but only four variants have high economy values in West Papua: merah panjang (long red), merah pandek (short red), cokelot (brown), and kummiming (yellow). The Red Fruit variant used as medicine is merah panjang (long red). The size is around 100 cm in length, 18 cm in diameter length, and 7.5 kg in weight. The fruit has a blunt edge and cylindrical shape.
Fruits of the pandanus family have specific characteristics that distinguish them from other fruits, including their very concentrated red color, indicating that the fruits are rich in beta carotene.
In Papua New Guinea it is called Marita fruit and make a red sauce out of it which is called marita sauce. Marita sauce is a ketchup-like substance which is used to flavor food.
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