Calamus filipendulus

Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs) filipendulus (fihl-ih-pehn-DOO-luhs)
Tapah, Malaysia. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs) Species: filipendulus (fihl-ih-pehn-DOO-luhs)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Asia
Morphology
Habit: Clustering Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
rotan batu

Habitat and Distribution

Malaya. Perak, Pahang, Selangor: Endemic.

Tapah, Malaysia. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.

Description

Slender, clustering, low rattan rarely more than 5 m tall. Stem to 6 mm in diameter without sheaths, with internodes to 12 cm long; stem with sheaths to 1.3 cm. Sheaths dark green, with scattered triangular, brown-tipped spines to 5 mm long, these occasionally joined at their bases, and red-brown indumentum, this quickly falling; knee present. Flagellum to 2 m long. Leaf to 1 m long, usually less, ecirrate; petiole to 10 cm long very sparsely armed with reflexed spines. Leaflets 6-8 in number, disproportionately large; apical pair joined for a third of their length, others ± regularly arranged, ± equal in size, to ± 30 cm long by 8 cm wide, dark green cucullate, with inconspicuous marginal bristles. Inflorescences female and male superficially similar 2.3 m long, bearing 4-5 small, distant, slender partial inflorescences, branching 1-2 times in female, 1-3 times in male, with bracts covered with minute scabrid hairs. Open flowers greenish yellow. Mature fruit top-shaped, to 14 mm long by 9 mm in diameter near the base, gradually narrowing to the pronounced cylindrical beak; white to straw coloured, covered in 13 vertical rows of scales with conspicuous dark margins. Seed ovate to top shaped, flattened on one lateral face deeply and coarsely sinuouse-grooved. Endosperm homogeneous. (J. Dransfield, A Manual of the rattans of the Malay Peninsula. Malayan Forest Records 29.. 1979)/Palmweb.

This is a very distinctive rattan in its disproportionately large leaflets and pale top-shaped fruit. One specimen from Selangor (Phytochemical Survey of Malaya No. 1649) has rather finely divided inflorescences with long rachillae, which are atypical. This might represent a distinct variety but until more material is available, no decision on its status can be made. In Tapah Hills Forest Reserve, Calamus filipendulus grows on lower hillslopes near valley bottoms in humid hill Dipterocarp forest. This is apparently a very local rattan. (J. Dransfield, A Manual of the rattans of the Malay Peninsula. Malayan Forest Records 29.. 1979)/Palmweb.

Culture

Cold Hardiness Zone: 10a

Comments and Curiosities

Etymology: From the Latin; filum - thread, pendulus - hanging, referring, perhaps, to the long narrow inflorescence

Uses: Apparently a good cane, but lengths are likely to be short because of the low stature of the rattan. The name "rotan batu" is the same as that given to C. insignis.