Calamus ornatus (PROSEA)
Introduction |
Calamus ornatus Blume
- Protologue: Rumphia 3: 58 (1847).
- Family: Palmae
- Chromosome number: 2n= unknown
Vernacular names
- Indonesia: rotan kesup (Bengkulu), rotan buku dalam (northern Sulawesi), rotan lambang (central Sulawesi)
- Malaysia: rotan dok (Selangor), sek batang (Pahang), we maliang (Sarawak)
- Philippines: limuran (Luzon), rimoran (Palawan), borongan (Mindanao)
- Thailand: waai chaang (Pattani).
Origin and geographic distribution
C. ornatus is widespread in secondary to primary forest from southern Thailand, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi (var. celebicus Becc.) to the Philippines (var. pulverulentus Fernando and var. philippinensis Becc.).
Uses
The major use of the cane is for making furniture (Indonesia) and as core (Peninsular Malaysia). Other uses in Peninsular Malaysia include the making of walking sticks, handles for umbrellas, axes and parangs, and flooring. Semai people of Peninsular Malaysia consider it to be one of seven plant species whose leaves help in the avoidance of epidemic diseases. The water from the raw cabbage is said to cure stomachache and diarrhoea. During childbirth, women in Sarawak may drink the extract of the roots to alleviate pain. The ash of the stem is believed to cure yaws. In the Philippines raw fruits of var. philippinensis are edible and are sold in markets. Fruits are also occasionally sold in Brunei and Sarawak.
Description
Massive clustering rattan, climbing to 50 m, dioecious. Stem without leafsheaths slightly angular, to 40 mm in diameter, with sheaths to 70 mm in diameter; nodes rather prominent, internodes to 30 cm. Leaves massive; leafsheath pale to dark green, armed to various degrees with narrow to large flattened triangular black spines with yellowish bases, 4 cm×1 cm, spines irregularly arranged and pointing somewhat upward; knee conspicuous; ocrea short, tattering; flagellum massive, dark green, to 10 m long or more, armed with short black yellowbased spines in partial whorls; petiole linear, to 1 m×4 cm, usually less; leaflets regular, 2030 on each side, the lowermost 50 cm×5 cm, the largest one in the middle, 80 cm×8 cm, decreasing to small at the tip, 4 cm×0.5 cm, the rachis forming a subcirrus; upper surface of the leaflets conspicuously prickly near the tip and along the upper main veins. Inflorescence flagelliferous, to 8 m long, bearing 46 partial inflorescences to 80 cm, the female with robust reflexed rachillae, the male with more branched rachillae. Ripe fruit ellipsoid, 3 cm×2 cm, short beaked, covered in 15 vertical rows of yellow brown to matt black scales, slightly lighter in colour at their bases. Seed ellipsoid, 2 cm×0.8 cm, rather angular with grooves on flattened lateral face, covered in sour sarcotesta; endosperm homogenous. Seedlingleaf bifid, shiny green.
Other botanical information
C. ornatus is very distinctive, likely to be confused only with C. scipionum Lour. and C. peregrinus Furt. It can be distinguished from C. peregrinus by the much broader leaflets. It can only be distinguished from C. scipionum with ease in the climbing stage, when C. scipionum has large terminal leaflets (ecirrate) and C. ornatus has minute terminal leaflets (subcirrate). In inflorescence structure they are very different, and the seedling of C. scipionum has 4 rather than 2 leaflets. Variation is considerable and largely continuous. It has been suggested that var. horridus Becc. and var. sumatranus Furt., separated on differences in leafsheath armature, should be regarded as being the same as C. ornatus var. ornatus . However, there are still other published varieties such as var. javanicus Becc., var. mitis Becc. and var. philippinensis Becc. which have not yet been accounted for. The var. celebicus Becc. in Sulawesi ("rotan susu") is still maintained. From the Philippines (Mindanao and Palawan) var. pulverulentus Fernando has been described recently. Variation in this polymorphic species is in need of a complete reassessment.
Ecology
C. ornatus is very common and widespread in primary as well as secondary tropical rain forest at altitudes up to 1000 m. It is not found in peat swamps or on extremely poor ridgetop soils.
Agronomy
Propagation is by seed. In Peninsular Malaysia, cultivation trials have been established. In Sarawak and Brunei a few clumps are cultivated by villagers for their edible fruits. In Mindanao, a 280 ha area has been planted with C. ornatus var. philippinensis by the Ecosystems Research & Development Bureau (ERDB).
Little care is needed once the seedlings are established, apart from occasional weeding. C. ornatus is apparently resistant to diseases and pests in the wild. The same harvesting and handlingafterharvest methods are used as for other largediameter canes such as C. manan Miq.
Genetic resources and breeding
C. ornatus has been planted in several botanic gardens and arboreta and in silvicultural trials.
Prospects
As a clustering species with a large diameter, C. ornatus has reasonable prospects for cultivation on a commercial scale.
Literature
- Beccari, O., 1893. Palmae. In: Hooker, J.D. (Editor): Flora of British India. Vol. 6. p. 460.
- Beccari, O., 1908. Asiatic palmsLepidocaryeae. Part 1. The species of Calamus. Annals of the Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta 11: plates 153 & 154, p. 368.
- Dransfield, J., 1979. A manual of the rattans of the Malay Peninsula. Malayan Forest Records No 29. Forest Department, Kuala Lumpur. pp. 201203.
- Dransfield, J., 1984. The rattans of Sabah. Sabah Forest Records No 13. Forest Department, Sabah, Sandakan. p. 150.
- Fernando, E., 1988. Four new taxa of Philippine rattans (Palmae: Calamoideae). Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 41(2): 4958.
- Furtado, C.X., 1956. Palmae Malesicae 19: the genus Calamus in the Malay Peninsula. Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 15: 32265.
- Johnson, D. (Editor), 1991. Palms for human needs in Asia. Balkema, Rotterdam & Brookfield. pp. 3773.
- Madulid, D.R., 1985. Philippine rattans with edible fruits. Rattan Information Centre Bulletin 4(2): 24.
- Wan Razali Wan Mohd, Dransfield, J. & Manokaran, N. (Editors), 1992. A guide to the cultivation of rattans. Malayan Forest Records No 35. Forest Department, Kuala Lumpur. pp. 8996.
Authors
J.P. Mogea