Calamus egregius (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Calamus egregius Burret

Protologue: Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin 13: 599 (1937).

Family: Palmae

Chromosome number: 2n= unknown

Vernacular names

• China: duanye shengteng, liteng (Hainan).

Origin and geographic distribution

C. egregius is found only on Hainan Island, but has now been introduced into Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces in arboreta and botanical gardens.

Uses

C. egregius produces an excellent cane of small to medium diameter, supreme for all types of binding and weaving in the furniture industry, widely used locally for cordage and house construction. New shoots can be eaten as a vegetable.

Production and international trade

There are no reliable estimates of production and trade. In recent years, the annual output of the canes may be rather small because of the restricted distribution and overexploitation.

Properties

Anatomical, physical and mechanical properties of the cane have yet to be examined. The cane has a creamy yellow colour and glossy outer surface, similar to that of C. simplicifolius Wei and C. caesius Blume.

Botany

Clustering, moderatesized, dioecious rattan, with stem climbing to 50 m long or more. Stem without leafsheaths 1015 mm, with sheaths 3050 mm in diameter; internodes to 40 cm in length. Leafsheath yellowishgreen, armed with flattened triangular spines 520 mm; knee conspicuous; petiole short; leafrachis and petiole armed with small spines, cirrus to 1 m long; leaflets in groups of 2(34), lanceolate, 1017 cm×23 cm, with 45 major nerves, armed with brownish bristles along margins and at the top. Details of male and female flowers not recorded. Infructescence 5080 cm long, the rachilla 1.54 cm long; calyx in fruit c. 3 mm long; corolla in fruit shorter than the calyx. Ripe fruit ovoid, c. 20 mm×16 mm, with a beak to 2 mm long, covered in 20 vertical rows of pale brown scales with dark margins. Seed ovoid, c. 18 mm×16 mm, deeply grooved and ruminate.

Germination begins in 5060 days; after 23 months the seedlingleaf has fully emerged; after 3 years, the first stem may exceed 1 m long. C. egregius forms small clumps of a few to 10 aerial stems. Flowering begins in May in the fifth year after sowing and thereafter, fruit begins to mature in October and ends in December. The growth rate may reach 1.52.0 m/year. C. egregius is closely related to C. simplicifolius.

Ecology

C. egregius usually occurs in montane rain forest between 6001000 m altitude. It grows well in rich and moist soil and requires adequate light for optimum growth of aerial stems but is unable to withstand full sunlight. Seedlings may be damaged by temperatures of3C.

Agronomy

C. egregius is usually propagated by seed. Seed extraction and cleaning should be carried out soon after collection to ensure high germination rates. The cleaned seeds are usually sown in sand beds, and then transplanted to pots as the first leaf emerges. Seedlings are usually kept in partial shade for 1012 months, and can then be interplanted in secondary forest, artificial plantation forests and agroforestry systems. The mother stem in a clump should be harvested 1012 years after planting. Harvesting methods are similar to those for other small to moderatesized canes.

Genetic resources and breeding

Although C. egregius does vary in the wild, no attempt has been made to distinguish varieties. No research on breeding has been conducted. Basic biological studies have to be undertaken before breeding and cultivation programmes are initiated.

Prospects

C. egregius is a very valuable species and may have great potential for development as a cultivated crop. It is of excellent quality and of good growth form, features that suggest it has potential outside China in the northern part of the Prosea region. However, the prospects for cultivation on a commercial scale have to be further researched. In the near future it may verge on extinction if not protected in nature reserves.

Literature

• Rao, A.N. & Vongkaluang, I. (Editors), 1989. Recent research on rattans. Proceedings of the International Rattan Seminar, Chiangmai, 1214 November 1987. Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University, Thailand and International Development Research Centre, Canada. pp. 1318.
• Wei, Z.F., 1986. A study on the genus Calamus of China. Guihaia 6(12): 1740.
• Xu, H.C., 1981. Some information on rattan species found in China. Rattan Research Centre Bulletin, Malaysia 5(2): 35.

Authors

H.C. Xu & G.T. Yin