Calamus rhabdocladus

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Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs)
rhabdocladus
(rahb-doh-CLAH-duhs)
Calamusrahb.jpg
Close-up of the rattan palm Calamus rhabdocladus growing in CucPhuong National Park, Vietnam. This is what rattan looks like before the leaf sheath is stripped off to extract the cane.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs)
Species:
rhabdocladus
(rahb-doh-CLAH-duhs)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Asia
Asia.gif
Morphology
Habit: Clustering
Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
wai wan, wai bounwan, wai bounyong (Lao Loum), blong salay (Khamu). 杖藤 zhang teng (China).

Habitat and Distribution

China (South Yunnan and South-east China), Laos (North and Central) and Vietnam (Tonkin, North and South Annam).
Ding Fushan, Guandong, China. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Tropical moist forest at 500 - 800 m (Laos), 1000 - 1600 m (Vietnam). Also survives in scrub. Lowland or montane rain forests; below 1600 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Yunnan (Laos, Vietnam).

Description

Stems clustered, climbing (sometimes only shortly climbing or erect), to 40 m, 4-6 cm in diam. Leaf sheaths green with reddish brown hairs, with densely arranged, oblique rows of glossy, black or brown, flattened spines to 4(-10 at sheath apices) cm; ocreas present; knees inconspicuous or absent; flagella to 5 m; rachis to 1.5 m with to 60 linear pinnae per side, these regularly arranged (young plants regularly arranged but with gaps); middle pinnae 30-50 cm, 1.8-2 cm wide at mid-point, adaxial and abaxial veins and margins prominently bristly; cirri absent. Inflorescences to 8 m, flagellate; inflorescence bracts tubular. Fruits reddish or yellowish, globose, ellipsoid, or ovoid, to 1.4 × 0.8 cm. Moderate, clustering, high climbing, flagellate rattan reaching at least 25 m long. Stem without sheath up to 25 mm in diam., with sheath 40 - 60 mm. Leaf ecirrate, total length 1 - 2 m, sheath green or yellowish in life with reddish-brown indumentum which dries dark and extends onto the rachis, sheath bearing numerous laminar, elastic, glossy black spines of widely varying sizes up to 4 cm, mostly arranged on raised crests in long, parallel rows, often deflexed, the spines of the sheath mouth longer, up to 10 cm, swept back across the stem and forming a comb, ocrea forming a brittle, well armed band about 1 cm tall, at first continuous across the base of the petiole, soon disintegrating; knee present but indistinct, petiole on upper leaves 20 - 40 cm long, flat or slightly keeled adaxially, rounded abaxially, heavily armed all around with combs of spines similar to those on the sheath, rachis becoming acutely bifaced distally, armed abaxially with small, dark claws; leaflets lanceolate, 30 - 49 x 1.8 - 2 cm, up to 60 per side in upper leaves, interruptedly pinnate, especially towards the base of the rachis, or wholly regularly arranged, all in one plane, parallel, concolorous, adaxially three costae prominent, the two lateral ones and sometimes the central one bearing many small appressed black bristles, abaxially only one costa sub-prominent, without bristles or with two of the non-central costae bristly, leaflet margins bristly, transverse veinlets quite sparse, sinuous, often interrupted. Male inflorescences flagelliform, branched to 3 orders, up to 4 m long excluding the terminal flagellum, often drying cinnamon-red, with pendulous branches; prophyll very densely armed with acicular and laminar black spines up to 2 cm long, primary bracts not lacerate although splitting a little on older inflorescences, tightly sheathing and clawed in their proximal parts, very slightly inflated and densely armed with acicular spines near the bract mouth, mouth with a short, acute limb, partial inflorescences inserted or exserted from the primary bracts, up to 70 cm long; secondary bracts and tertiary bracts unarmed, entire, with short acute limbs; rachillae inserted in the tertiary bracts, tiny, delicate, up to 1.2 (rarely to 2) cm long with a very slender axis, strongly recurved well before anthesis, along each side bearing 3 - 5 flowers spaced less than 2 mm apart, the rachilla bracts very shortly, broadly funnel shaped, 2.5 mm wide at the mouth, involucre inserted in the bract. Flowers not seen at anthesis, those seen 3 mm long, the calyx over 2/3 this length and toothed to about 1/4 of its length. Female inflorescences similar to the male except where noted, up to 4 m long excluding terminal flagellum, branched to two orders, partial inflorescences up to 80 cm long, rachillae up to 8 or even 15 cm long, inserted in the secondary bracts, pendulous, along each side bearing around 16- 22 flowers spaced 4.5 - 6 mm apart, the rachilla bracts funnel shaped, with a small acute limb, 3- 4 mm wide at the mouth, involucrophores inserted in the bracts, involucres and the much smaller cups of the neuter flowers deeply cupular, their shared margin raised in a point well beyond the bract mouth. Female flowers not seen. Fruiting perianth explanate. Fruit ovoid, 14 x 8 mm including a short abrupt beak, the epicarp scales in 12 - 15 vertical rows, when dry yellow with a reddish-brown margin of varying width, slightly channelled. Seed 8 x 4 mm, elongate-ovoid, the surface deeply pitted, the interior thus slightly ruminate. (J. Dransfield, A Synopsis of the Rattans (Arecaceae: Calamoideae) of Laos and Neighbouring Parts of Indochina. 2002)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

Culture

Comments and Curiosities

Uses: The cane is of at least moderate quality for handicrafts and trade. The shoot is edible and, unusually for an Indochinese rattan; sweet.



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).

J. Dransfield, A Synopsis of the Rattans (Arecaceae: Calamoideae) of Laos and Neighbouring Parts of Indochina. 2002


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

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