“Toei Panan/Pandanus”, also known to some as Ton Lam Chiak or Toei Talay, is a medium-sized shrub. It belongs to the palm family and usually grows in the south, especially on sandy soils and near swamps or along mangrove forests. The trunk is a large clump, about 4-5 feet tall, green leaves with thorns. Physically, the leaves of “Toei Panan/Pandanus” resemble the leaves of pineapple, but the leaves are longer, larger and thicker than pineapple leaves.
The properties of the fibers of “Toei Panan/Pandanus” are special, tough, when the thorns are removed and burnt back, the fibers become soft, flexible, shiny, sticky, oily skin, no fungi and thus suitable to be made into basketry. Pandan trees like to grow on beaches, seashores, mangrove forests and beaches in the southern part of almost all provinces. Therefore, pandan leaves are often made into hammered pieces. They are woven into various containers used in daily life.
