Calamus palustris

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Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs)
palustris (pahl-LUHS-triss)
Cp2788565.jpg
Laos. Calamus palustris var. palustris. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Calamus (KAL-ah-muhs)
Species:
palustris (pahl-LUHS-triss)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Asia
Asia.gif
Morphology
Habit: Clustering
Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
wai hangnou, wai namleuang, wai khairt, wai kiyow, wai hom, wai namhang, wai tiukeng, wai savang, wai sard, wai kanebouang (Lao Loum), re tair (Alak), wai kring, wai saikai, wai tiukeng, wai plawk, May Tau (Thailand).

Habitat and Distribution

Thailand (North, North-east, East, Central, South-east), Laos (all parts), Vietnam (Cochinchina) and Cambodia.
Photo-Malaysian Biological Diversity.
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:



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 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.

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