Calamus minutus

Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs) minutus (mih-NOO-tuhs)
Ulu Nerus, Trengganu, Malaysia. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs) Species: minutus (mih-NOO-tuhs)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Asia
Morphology
Habit: Solitary Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
None.

Habitat and Distribution

Malaya, Trengganu: endemic.

Ulu Nerus, Trengganu, Malaysia. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.

Description

Solitary very small "stemless" rattan consisting of a rosette of about 8 leaves scarcely exceeding 60 cm tall Stem without sheaths to 1.3 cm in diameter, erect or creeping, with internodes to about 2 mm apart. Sheath dark green armed with horizontal groups or partial whorls of brown spines to 1.1 cm long; knee absent. Whole leaf to about 60 cm long, very rarely longer, petiole about 20 cm long armed with whorls of brown spines, the longest to 3 cm long. Leaflets 20-30 on each side, regularly arranged, + opposite, very fine, the longest to 15 cm long by 8 mm wide, dark green, armed rather sparsely on three main veins above, densely along margins, and very densely along all veins below with small black bristles; leaflet tips very bristly. Inflorescences male and female superficially similar much shorter than tbe leaves, to 20 cm long] peduncle about 5 cm long; bracts about 9, pale brown, the largest to 5 cm long by 5 mm wide; partial inflorescences to about 4 cm long with rachillae to 1.2 cm long. Almost mature fruit rounded, about 8 mm in diameter, conspicuously beaked, covered in 16 vertical rows of dull chestnut brown scales. Seed about 6 mm in diameter. Endosperm homogeneous. Seedling leaf unknown. (J. Dransfield, A Manual of the rattans of the Malay Peninsula. Malayan Forest Records 29.. 1979)

This species is the smallest known in the genus. It is most closely related to C. cockburnii but can be distinguished by the much finer leaflets, densely bristly on lower surface, and the fruit with 16 rather than 12 vertical rows of scales. It is known only from one small area of Ulu Setiu Forest Reserve, in Ulu Besut, growing on steep hillslopes in lowland Dipterocarp forest at 150 m altitude. (J. Dransfield, A Manual of the rattans of the Malay Peninsula. Malayan Forest Records 29.. 1979)

Comments and Curiosities

Etymology: From the Latin; Minutus - very small.