Calamus zebrinus
| Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs) zebrinus (zeh-BREH-nuhs) | |||||||
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 Kuale Kencana, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb. | |||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
New Guinea. Widespread in lowland New Guinea. In lowland forest, usually on river banks, in swamp
Description
Moderately robust, clustering rattan climbing to 35 m. Stem with sheaths 13 - 36 mm in diam., without sheaths to 8 - 18 mm in diam., sometimes with white exudate; internodes 8 - 50 cm. Leaf ecirrate to 2.2 m long including petiole; sheath green, drying mid brown, with abundant brown indument, sheath spines usually abundant, easily detached, solitary or more usually in horizontal groups with bases coalescing to produce low collars about 1 mm tall, the free spines pale brown to straw-coloured, erect, spines 2 - 30 x 0.5 - 1 mm, acicular, sometimes with sparse indument, spines around the leaf sheath mouth often crowded and conspicuous, spines eventually eroding to leave close low collars or ridges; knee 25 - 70 x 5 - 10 mm, drying mid brown, unarmed or armed as the rest of the sheath; ocrea to 100 x 4 cm, usually poorly preserved, erect at first, linear-lanceolate, papery, pale straw-coloured, armed with scattered or grouped dark bristles 1 - 10 mm long with paler slightly swollen bases, the ocrea soon disintegrating; flagellum present, to 5.5 m long; petiole 3 - 20 cm long, 9 - 15 mm wide and 3 - 6 mm thick at the base, flattened or shallowly channelled adaxially, abaxially rounded, with sparse to dense dull brown indument, and with scattered rigid persistent spines to 10 mm along the margins and adaxial face, but absent from a broad mid-band abaxially; rachis to 140 cm long, distally sparsely armed with recurved hooks and adaxially with abundant dull brown indumentum; leaflets 23 - 64 each side of rachis, regularly arranged, linear, longest leaflet in mid-leaf 23 - 47 x 1.2 - 2.5 cm, apical leaflets 7 - 15 x 0.4 - 1 cm, apical leaflet pair not united, surfaces glabrous, rather densely bristly on 3 nerves abaxially, sparsely bristly adaxially and along margins, transverse veinlets moderately conspicuous.| read more |
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| Staminate inflorescence to 4.5 m long including to 0.45 m peduncle and 2 m flagelliform tip, branched to 3 orders; prophyll to 65 x 3 cm, closely sheathing, splitting and disintegrating at its tip, with sparse reddish brown indumentum, armed with scattered and grouped short triangular spines to 4 mm long, with swollen bases; peduncular bracts absent, rachis bracts similar to prophyll but shorter, similarly indumentose and spiny; primary branches to 7, to at least 60 cm long, about 30 - 50 cm apart, with numerous rachillae; rachillae 2 - 5 x 2.5 - 3 mm; rachilla bracts 1.5 - 2 x 2.5 - 3 mm, distichously arranged, bearing sparse indumentum, unarmed; floral bracteole 1.5 x 1.5 - 2 mm, cup-shaped, with sparse indumentum. Staminate flowers 4 x 2 mm just prior to anthesis; calyx 2 mm in diam., tubular in basal 1 mm, with 3 lobes 2 x 1.5 mm, glabrescent; corolla 3.5 x 2 mm in bud, tubular in basal 1 mm, the lobes 2 x 1.5; stamens 6, filaments 0.2 x 0.2 mm, anthers 2 x 0.3 mm; pistillode 1 x 0.3 mm, pyramidal. Pistillate inflorescence similar to staminate inflorescence, 1.9 - 6 m long including 0.72 - 3.8 m peduncle and 0.5 - 1.5 m flagelliform tip, branched to 2 orders; prophyll to 75 x 3.5 cm, tubular and closely sheathing, splitting apically and disintegrating, bearing sparse reddish brown indumentum and scattered and grouped short triangular spines with swollen bases; peduncular bracts 1 (always?), peduncular and rachis bracts to 22 - 58 x 0.6 - 1.4 cm, closely tubular, splitting apically, armed and indumentose as the prophyll; primary branches to 4, to 90 cm long, to 40 cm apart, with up to 20 rachillae; rachillae 45 - 190 x 2.5 - 3 mm; rachilla bracts 3 - 7 x 3 mm, distichously arranged, covered in sparse reddish brown indumentum and abundant pale triangular apiculate spines; proximal floral bracteoles apiculate, 1.5 x 1.5 mm, distal floral bracteoles apiculate, 1.5 x 1.5 mm, scar from sterile staminate not always present, about 0.1 mm in diam. Pistillate flowers borne in pairs, with or without a sterile staminate flower 5 x 1.8 mm in early bud; other details not available; perianths splitting and becoming explanate at fruit maturity, star-like. Sterile staminate flower in bud 3 x 1 mm. Fruit spherical or sometimes oblate, 8 - 15 x 8 - 11 mm including beak 1 - 2 x 1 - 2 mm, with 19 - 25 vertical rows of pale yellowish brown, channelled somewhat convex scales with pale margins. Seed to 9 x 8 x 7 mm (sarcotesta removed), ellipsoid with a pronounced longitudinal pit on the chalazal side; endosperm homogeneous; embryo basal. (J. Dransfield & W.J. Baker, An Account of the Papuasian Species of Calamus (Arecaceae) with Paired Fruit in Kew Bull. ser. 2, 58. 2003)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.
This is one of the most widespread of all rattan species in New Guinea. It is remarkable on several counts. It is immediately distinguishable by its immensely long papery ocrea, one of the largest in the genus and in this respect the species is very reminiscent of Calamus paspalanthus Becc. of west Malesia. The leaflets are regularly arranged, close and slender. Pistillate flowers are paired. There is considerable variation in the size of this rattan. Specimens from higher elevations appear to be consistently more slender. There is also variation in the armature of the sheaths; in some the spines coalesce to form wide combs on low collars, while in others the spines are more scattered and only partially grouped; the knee may be densely or sparsely armed or even unarmed. Rachilla bracts in the pistillate inflorescence vary from being almost unarmed to densely armed with short triangular spines. The spines are dry and readily detached. It is not unusual for this rattan to appear to be unarmed, the sheaths bearing only the encircling ridges formed by the remnants of the spine bases. (J. Dransfield & W.J. Baker, An Account of the Papuasian Species of Calamus (Arecaceae) with Paired Fruit in Kew Bull. ser. 2, 58. 2003)/Palmweb. |
Comments and Curiosities
Uses: Stems used for straps, armbands, fire-making, waist-hoops, tying, house construction, bow-strings by Yali People of Snow Mountains region. One record from the Baliem Valley area (Milliken 1544) indicates that the species is sometimes planted.
- IMAGE GALLERY
Kuale Kencana, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Kuale Kencana, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Near Soon, Biak, Papua, Biak, Indonesia. Photo by Dr. William J. Baker, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Kuale Kencana, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Kuale Kencana, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo by Dr. William J. Baker, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Bosavi Mission, S. Highlands, Papua New Guinea . Photo by Dr. William J. Baker, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Kuale Kencana, West Papua, Indonesia. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Bosavi Mission, S. Highlands, Papua New Guinea . Photo by Dr. William J. Baker, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
All information copyright, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
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 & W.J. Baker, An Account of the Papuasian Species of Calamus (Arecaceae) with Paired Fruit in Kew Bull. ser. 2, 58. 2003
Many Special Thanks to Ed Vaile for his long hours of tireless editing and numerous contributions.
