Plectocomia elongata

Plectocomia (plehk-toh-cohm-EE-ah) elongata (eh-lohn-GAH-tah)
Fraser's Hill, Pahang, Malaysia. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.
Scientific Classification
Genus: Plectocomia (plehk-toh-cohm-EE-ah) Species: elongata (eh-lohn-GAH-tah)
Synonyms
None set.
Native Continent
Asia
Morphology
Habit: Solitary Leaf type: Pinnate
Culture
Survivability index
Common names
None.

Habitat and Distribution

Borneo, Java, Philippines, Sumatera, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Plectocomia elongata. Fraser's Hill, Pahang, Malaysia. Photo by Dr. John Dransfield, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew/Palmweb.

Description

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Comments and Curiosities

There are two sub-species: 1.) Plectocomia elongata var. 'elongata'; Known only from Bt. Retak. Elsewhere rare on Kinabalu and G. Mulu, abundant in Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Java; a variety known in Palawan.

Robust, solitary rattan climbing to 50 m; stem without sheaths to 6 cm in diam. near the base, to 10 cm or more in upper parts, with sheaths to 20 cm in diam., internodes to 30 cm long; lower parts of old stems frequently with bubble-like shoots from the nodes. Sheaths dull green armed with horizontal or oblique combs of golden brown or deep reddish-brown spines to 4 cm long, and abundant white or buff-coloured indumentum; knee absent. Leaf very large, to 7 m long including the cirrus to 3 m and petiole to about 30 cm; leaflets to about 60 on each side of the rachis, arranged irregularly in 2s-7s and fanned within the groups. bluish green on the upper surface, whitish beneath. Inflorescences produced from the top 7-10 nodes, to about 80 cm long and bearing about 12 crowded pendulous branches to about 1 m; bracts chestnut brown, about 7 × 5 cm, with triangular tips but scarcely truncate. Male flowers up to about 20 within each bract; female flowers 3-9 within each bract, ± completely concealed. Mature fruit about 8 within each bract (if fewer, then fruit larger), very crowded, about 1.5 cm in diam., with reflexed stigmas and covered in about 50 vertical rows of fimbriate-margined reddish-brown scales. Seed about 1 cm in diam. Seedling leaf lanceolate, undivided. (J. Dransfield, The Rattans of Brunei Darussalam. 1997)/Palmweb. Editing by edric.

This is an imperfectly known species in Borneo. Large plants of P. mulleri from sites on good soil may appear very similar. Apart from the extreme poor soil form of P. mulleri, the two taxa can only be told apart with certainty if fertile material is available. (J. Dransfield, The Rattans of Brunei Darussalam. 1997)/Palmweb.

Etymology: From the Latin, literally; elongated.

2.) Plectocomia elongata var. philippinensis: Philippines.