Calamus viminalis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Calamus viminalis Willd.

Family: Palmae

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: penjalin cacing (Bali)
• Cambodia: padao
• Thailand: wai mon, wai som, wai sam bai taw. (Note that the local name "penjalin cacing"or "rotan cacing"("cacing"= worm) in Indonesia (Sumatra and Java) is frequently used for slender canes such as C. javensis Bl. and C. melanoloma Mart.

Distribution

Cambodia, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java and Bali.

Uses

The cane is locally used for basketry and matting.

Observations

Clustering rattan, forming thickets to 5 m tall. Stem without leafsheaths 8 mm in diameter. Leaves ecirrate; flagellum to 1.5 m long. C. viminalis is closely related to C. siamensis Becc., the conspicuous difference is mainly in the arrangement of the leaflets on the rachis: in C. siamensis they are regular in one plane whereas in C. viminalis they are irregular and fanned. Beccari described var. andamanicus , var. bengalensis and var. faciculatus . These varieties have not been critically reassessed. Found in the lowlands, and in Java just behind the coast in open areas and in submaritime savannah.

Selected sources

1, 4, 14.