Calamus palustris
Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs) palustris (pahl-LUHS-triss) | |||||||
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Laos. Calamus palustris var. palustris. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb. | |||||||
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Contents
Habitat and Distribution
Thailand (North, North-east, East, Central, South-east), Laos (all parts), Vietnam (Cochinchina) and Cambodia. Possibly also South and South-east Yunnan. Other varieties occur in India and the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Moist tropical forest at 100 - 650 m (Laos), and up to 1300 m (Thailand).Description
Beccari (1902) contains no information other than a specimen number and so cannot constitute a type description for C. palustris var. cochinchinensis, even though Beccari (1908) cites it as such. Calamus loeiensis is based on a tiny difference from the supposed typical form that does not exceed the normal within-individual variation in C. palustris var. cochinchinensis. Beccari (1913) diagnosed C. kerrianus from C. latifolius but made no mention of C. palustris. This was the very last species added to the 'latest additions' section of the supplement to his monograph, and one can well imagine that this great similarity was overlooked due to time pressures. The holotype of C. kerrianus and five other very similar specimens from Doi Sutep held at BKF all fall well within the range of individual variation seen in C. palustris var. cochinchinensis, so there is a clear need to synonymise them. We have examined two specimens from South Yunnan previously determined as C. palustris. We consider one unidentifiable (see Names of doubtful application, below) and the other (which had also at times been referred to C. latifolius) to be C. platyacanthoides. Pei et al. (1989) list two other collections from South Yunnan (Unknown collectors 18974 and 18866, the latter as var. palustris) and Pei et al. (1991) also list var. cochinchinensis from South-east Yunnan, but we have not been able to examine this material. We suggest that it merits reassessment. A review of the three non-Indochinese varieties (amplissimus Becc., malaccensis Becc. and the typical form) was outside the scope of the present study. Variation in robustness in Laos is quite large. Several very slender plants with sheath diameters of 7 - 12 mm have been collected, but none had begun to flower and such stems are expected to become thicker as they approach maturity. At the other extreme Khamphone 403 has a sheath diameter of 30 - 40 mm and leaves over 1.9 m long excluding the cirrus. It might belong in another variety. Most mature Lao stems we have seen have sheaths 15 - 25 mm diameter and leaves 0.7 - 1.1 m long excluding the cirrus. (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
Etymology: Palustris - of marshes. (of Malacca).
Uses: The cane is of high quality and widely traded. The shoot is edible. There are reportedly plantations for cane production in Vietnam.
There are two sub-species:
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1.) Calamus palustris var. palustris; Andaman Is., Cambodia, China South-Central, China Southeast, Laos, Myanmar, Nicobar Is., and Thailand. 2.) Calamus palustris var. malaccensis; Penang, Perak. Rare. Variety endemic, typical species in Burma and Thailand. Clustering rattan climbing to 25 m tall, flowering when quite short. Stem without sheaths about 1.5 - 2 cm in diameter with internodes to 30 cm; stem with sheaths to 3.5 cm. Sheaths bright green, armed with scattered brown yellow-based spines to 3 cm long, usually less, with much smaller spines scattered in between. Reddish brown indumentum abundant on young sheaths. Knee conspicuous. Ocrea to 3 mm high, dark brown unarmed. Leaf cirrate to 2.5 m long including the cirrus to 1 m; petiole short, about 10-15 cm long, semicircular in cross-section, the upper flat surface armed with short erect spines. Leaflets to about 21 on each side of the rachis, arranged in 2's to 4's broad, spafhulate, to about 35 cm long by 4 cm wide unarmed or very sparsely armed. Inflorescence, only male known, to about 1 m long with about 12 close partial inflorescences to 25 m long, decreasing in length above. Bracts sparsely armed. Rachillae about 2 cm long. (J. Dransfield, A Manual of the rattans of the Malay Peninsula. Malayan Forest Records 29.. 1979)/Palmweb. Calamus palustris is known from a few localities near Ipoh, found growing in belukar near the main road, Ipoh to Kuala Kangsar, and by limestone hills near Tambun, and in belukar at the edge of the Waterfall Gardens in Penang. For differences from C. axillaris see that species. It is easily identified by means of the italicized characters. (J. Dransfield, A Manual of the rattans of the Malay Peninsula. Malayan Forest Records 29.. 1979)/Palmweb. Uses: This species has a beautiful yellowish glossy cane of excellent general appearance. It is not known if it is utilized, but as every known clump is near villages, there is some suggestion that it might have been planted there. Much suggests that this species has potential as a cultivated rattan. (J. Dransfield, A Manual of the rattans of the Malay Peninsula. Malayan Forest Records 29.. 1979)/Palmweb. |
External Links
- Glossary of Palm Terms
- MODERN BOTANICAL LATIN
- "Just To Be Clear"
- http://www.researchgate.net/publication/46031562_Survival_and_Sex_Ratio_of_a_Planted_Rattan_Calamus_palustris_Griff._Population_Implication_to_Seed_Production_and_Management
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 Manual of the rattans of the Malay Peninsula. Malayan Forest Records 29.. 1979)
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.