Calamus laevigatus

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Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs)
laevigatus (leh-vee-GAH-tuhs)
Cl2787758.jpg
Photo by Dr. John Dranfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs)
Species:
laevigatus (leh-vee-GAH-tuhs)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Asia
Asia.gif
Morphology
Habit: Solitary, rarely clustering.
Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
None.

Habitat and Distribution

Borneo, Malaya, Sumatera, and Thailand.

Singapore Palms Group.

Description

Solitary (very rarely clustered) moderate rattan. Stems climbing to 30 m or more long, without sheaths 0.8–1 cm im diam., with sheaths to 2 cm in diam., internodes to 25 cm long. Leaves cirrate; sheaths dull to pale green, drying very pale brownish-green, armed with sparse horizontal ± triangular spines borne on swollen bases, sometimes also with very faint horizontal ridges, sometimes unarmed, and with brown scales abundant on young leaf surfaces; knee conspicuous; ocrea scarcely developed; flagellum absent; petiole absent; rachis to 35 cm long; cirrus to 65 cm long; leaflets about 20 on each side of the rachis, concolorous, arranged irregularly, the basal up to 8 pairs on each side very close and strongly reflexed across the leaf sheaths forming a chamber in which ants frequently nest, upper leaflets in groups of 2–4 and fanned within the groups, the largest leaflets to about 20 x 0.5–2 cm, somewhat plicate, drying very pale green. Inflorescences usually about the same length as the leaves, without a terminal flagellum, and with up to 10 partial inflorescences, the male branching to 3 orders, the female to 2 orders; main bracts rather densely armed with black-tipped, pale, bulbous-based spines and brown indumentum, ultimate bracts and bracteoles with abundant minute spines producing a rough feel; male rachillae very short, to 0.5 x 0.1 cm, female rachillae to 7 x 0.2 cm. Mature fruit rounded, aboout 1.2 cm in diam., with a short beak and covered with 15–19 vertical rows of pale straw- to whitish-coloured scales, sometimes flecked with red. Seed rounded, about 1 cm in diam., deeply pitted; endosperm slightly ruminate. Seedling leaf bifid. (Dransfield, J. 1984. The Rattans of Sabah. Sabah Forest Records 13. Sabah Forest Department.)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

This species is rather invariable in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra; in Borneo, variation is quite complex, so much so that one previously described species C. mucronatus Becc. has had to be incuded as a variety of C. laevigatus, and one new variety, C. laevigatus var. serpentinus Dransf. has been described. Even after this, C. laevigatus Mar. laevigatus in Sabah remains a variable taxon, with one form with very narrow leaflets being particularly striking, but connected up to more typical forms by intermediates. It must also be noted that C. kiahii is closely related, though retained as distinct in this treatment. In its greatest variation being confined to Borneo, C. laevigatus parallels other taxa such as C. javensis. (Dransfield, J. 1984. The Rattans of Sabah. Sabah Forest Records 13. Sabah Forest Department.)/Palmweb.

Culture

Comments and Curiosities

Etymology: From the Latin: smooth, referring to the smooth unarmed leaf sheaths in the type specimen; sheaths are usually armed so the name is not very appropriate.



External Links

References

Phonetic spelling of Latin names by edric.

Special thanks to Geoff Stein, (Palmbob) for his hundreds of photos.

Special thanks to Palmweb.org, Dr. John Dransfield, Dr. Bill Baker & team, for their volumes of information and photos.

Glossary of Palm Terms; Based on the glossary in Dransfield, J., N.W. Uhl, C.B. Asmussen-Lange, W.J. Baker, M.M. Harley & C.E. Lewis. 2008. Genera Palmarum - Evolution and Classification of the Palms. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. All images copyright of the artists and photographers (see images for credits).

Dransfield, J. 1984. The Rattans of Sabah. Sabah Forest Records 13. Sabah Forest Department.


Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.

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