Daemonorops longipes

Daemonorops (deh-mohn-OHR-ohps) longipes (lohn-JIHP-ehs)
Bukit Patam, Brunei Darussalam. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Daemonorops (deh-mohn-OHR-ohps) Species: longipes (lohn-JIHP-ehs)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Asia
Morphology
Habit: Clustering Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
Rohtan Tanah.

Habitat and Distribution

Daemonorops longipes is found in Borneo, Malaya, Philippines, and Sumatera. Very

Sinapore. Photo by Geoff Stein.

widespread throughout Brunei. Elsewhere throughout Borneo, Sumatra and the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia; also in Palawan. (J. Dransfield. 1997)/Palmweb.

Description

Clustering rattan palm with short to long, moderate to robust stems, sometimes forming low thickets, rather rarely high-climbing, very variable in all its parts; stems without sheaths to 30 mm in diam., with sheaths to 50 mm in diam., internodes usually short, about 5 cm long, rarely up to 12 cm. Sheath bright green, armed with large brownish-black, flattened, reflexed spines arranged in horizontal to slightly oblique groups, those around the sheath mouth sometimes crowded and erect, usually about 4 cm long, more rarely up to 8 cm, occasionally with black spicules between the spines, and usually with dense brown indumentum; knee absent; ocrea short, rather densely covered with black spicules. Leaf sometimes ± ecirrate, usually with a short cirrus, occasionally very robust to 4.5 m including the petiole to 50 cm and cirrus to 1.25 m, but usually much less, c. 2 m long; leaflets 30-60 on each side of the rachis, usually irregularly arranged, rarely subregular, frequently aggregated in neat groups of up to 5, rarely divergent within the groups, the longest to 50 × 3 cm, usually bristly along the margins and along the mid vein on lower surface. Inflorescences borne on laterally flattened peduncle, the female tending to continue to elongate after fertilisation, the peduncle to 1 m, usually less, unarmed, or armed with few lateral spines; bracts very narrow, papery, unarmed, quickly falling; male flowers close, strictly distichous, female flowers more distant. Fruit usually ovoid, more rarely ± oblong or spherical, to 25 × 8 mm, usually less, covered in 15 vertical rows of straw-coloured or dull brown scales. Seed to 16 × 10 mm, oblong; endosperm deeply ruminate. Seedling leaf with 4 leaflets held in a fan. (J. Dransfield. 1997)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

This is a very confusing rattan; it is very variable and is found in a wide variety of habitats from sea level up to about 1,600 m (in Sabah). Part of the variation may perhaps be correlated with the wide ecological range; the very robust montane forms from Sabah were in fact described by Furtado as two separate species but they fit into the variation of D. longipes. Some of the variation, however, is difficult to link with habitat differences. This rattan is also one of the most frequently collected species, and it is the wide range of material which has forced us to recognise a single variable taxon. (J. Dransfield. 1997)/Palmweb.

Culture

Cold Hardiness Zone: 10b

Comments and Curiosities

Etymology: Long foot (J. Dransfield. 1997)/Palmweb.