Pup pandan

Pandanus gemmifer is an evergreen tree growing up to 10 m (33 ft) high with a trunk up to 15 cm (5.9 in) diameter. It has a very open structure, long branches and prop (or stilt) roots up to 50 cm (20 in) high emanating from the lower portion of the trunk. Like P. grayorum the stem is marked with spirally arranged nodules, which may eventually develop into "pups" or plantlets on the upper reaches of the branches. In this species the pups are numerous and densely packed, and the branches may be completely obscured by them. Leaves are clustered at the ends of the branches, arching, "M" shaped in cross-section and measure up to 300 cm (120 in) long or more by 5 cm (2.0 in) wide at the base, tapering gradually along the full length to a fine point. Ascending spurs occur along the leaf margins around the midsection of the leaf, and on the apex margins and midrib. The inflorescences are terminal and pendant. The fruit is a syncarp, dark red when ripe and divided into 30 to 40 segments. Each segment contains up to 17 carpels, has a more or less domed upper surface, the apex of which is marked by the small crowded tips of the carpels.

Pandanus gemmifer is restricted to northeast Queensland, occurring in disjunct populations near Coen on Cape York Peninsula, around Cairns and the Atherton Tablelands, and in the Paluma Range National Park.

St. John stated in his paper that the species epithet gemmifer is from "the Latin, gemma, a bud; fero, to produce; in reference to the spectacular production of lateral, leafy buds."