Freycinetia marginata

Freycinetia marginata is an evergreen root climber with a stem diameter of up to 3 cm (1.2 in), which is held tightly to its support substrate by numerous adventitious roots. The leaves have fine longitudinal veins and are green with a purplish hue. They are long and strap like, measuring up to 150 cm (59 in) long by 8 cm (3.1 in) wide, and the margins (edges) may have small spines or teeth. The leaf bases are expanded laterally to form ligules, that is, thin membranous extensions of the leaf blade which overlap with neighbouring ligules, creating traps for water and biotic debris.

The giant climbing pandan grows in rainforest at altitudes from sea level to around 200 m (660 ft), often in gullies near rivers and streams. The range extends from Queensland, Australia, to New Guinea. In Australia it is found in two disjunct populations – one in the vicinity of Lockhart River in northern Cape York and the other in the valleys of the Daintree River and its tributaries.