Calamus malawaliensis

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Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs)
malawaliensis
(mahl-ah-wahl-ee-EHN-siss)
Cm2787739.jpg
Palawan, Philippines. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs)
Species:
malawaliensis
(mahl-ah-wahl-ee-EHN-siss)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Asia
Asia.gif
Morphology
Habit: Solitary
Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
None.

Habitat and Distribution

Known only from 2 collections from Pulau Malawali Island, N. Borneo; endemic.

Palawan, Philippines. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.

Description

Very slender rattan with stems climbing to 7 m; stem without sheaths to 4 mm, with to 7 mm in diam.; internodes to 11 cm. Leaf sheaths drying very pale bluish-green, with very sparse indumentum and densely armed with short black-tipped spines to 5 mm with conspicuously swollen bases. Knee poorly developed. Ocrea inconspicuous. Leaf cirrate to 76 cm including petiole to 18 cm and cirrus to 18 cm; leaflets about 10 on each side of the rachis, arranged irregularly in 5 groups of 1-3, fanned within the groups, the longest to 16 x 1.5 cm, unarmed, drying pale bluish-green. Only ± mature infructescence known, to 22 cm, thus much shorter than the leaves, erect, unarmed, with 4 partial inflorescences to 5 cm long; rachillae to 1 cm. Mature fruit sphejical c 7 mm in diam., tipped with a beak to 0.8 x 0.8 mm and covered in 13 vertical rows of shiny convex straw-coloured scales with dark brown margins. Seeds 2, hemispherical, about 4 mm in diam. Seedling leaf unknown. (J. Dransfield, The Rattans of Sabah. Sabah Forest Records 13.. 1984)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

C. malawaliensis is most closely related to C. microsphaerion; it lacks the brown scales on the sheaths of the latter, and the whole plant dries pale bluish-green. The rachillae are much smaller and the fruit has shiny convex scales. It is not known if the fruit always contains two seeds. Pulau Malawali is ultrabasic, so the habitat is probably similar to that of C. microsphaerion. (J. Dransfield, The Rattans of Sabah. Sabah Forest Records 13.. 1984)/Palmweb.

Culture

Comments and Curiosities

Etymology: After the type locality, and from the native name for the island.

Uses: Useless according to the collectors, Charles Phillipps and Dewol Sundaling.



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, The Rattans of Sabah. Sabah Forest Records 13.. 1984


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

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