Calamus wailong (PROSEA)
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Introduction |
Calamus wailong S.J. Pei & S.Y. Chen
- Protologue: Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 27(2): 138 (1989).
- Family: Palmae
- Chromosome number: 2n= unknown
Synonyms
Calamus platyacanthus Wei non Warb. ex Becc.
Vernacular names
- China: wailong (general name among indigenous Dai group); dateng (formal botanical name in Chinese).
Origin and geographic distribution
C. wailong is naturally distributed over the eastern part of the mountain region of Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province of China. It occurs naturally in tropical rain forest and since recently has been cultivated by villagers in the region.
Uses
Cane of C. wailong is extensively used in weaving and in the making of furniture among local communities of this region in China; the split cane is used to weave chairs, small tables, riceboxes, suitcases and mats. The round stems are used as sticks for the framework of furniture and for house construction.
Production and international trade
In the 1960s there was an estimated production of C. wailong cane in Mengla county of Yunnan Province of 1000 t per year. The government therefore constructed a road of 80 km from the main highway in order to transport cane from this region. Later, however, the production of the cane in Mengla county fell to about 50 t a year. The total commercial production of rattan cane from 29 different species and varieties between 1980 and 1989 in Yunnan Province was 667 t per year, and the highest was 2239 t in 1988. The rattan canes were transported to cities such as Kunming, Guangzhou and Fushan for processing and weaving fine rattan products for the export and domestic market. Traditionally, the cane of C. wailong is mainly consumed by local villagers, and only a small portion is supplied to the cottage industry workshops in the region. As import of cane from international markets has become extremely difficult in recent years, government agencies and local communities are anxious to increase domestic cane production.
Properties
C. wailong has a large and strong cane. It can produce more fine strips from splitting than other local rattans. As the cane is durable, it is suitable for making furniture and farming tools. Quality of the canes is normally affected by storage conditions, e.g. when after harvesting, the cane is stored in open, unsheltered conditions, the quality detoriates.
Description
Clustering, robust, large, high climbing, dioecious rattan. Stem without leafsheaths 20 mm in diameter, with sheaths to 40 mm in diameter, internodes to 50 cm or more long. Leaf to 2.5 m long; leafsheath dullgreen, armed with straight and curved spines to 5 cm long; knee conspicuous; ocrea short; leaflets large, to 55 cm×7 cm, arranged irregularly on the rachis; rachis prolonged into a cirrus c. 1.52.5 m long, bearing dense, short, erect spines. Male and female inflorescences superficially similar; the male inflorescence branching to 3 orders, c. 1.5 m long; primary bracts long, tubular or cylindrical, with robust, curved spines, bract apex tattered; secondary bracts tubular; tertiary bracts short, tubular, cupshaped with few recurved spines; male flower ovoid to 4 mm long; calyx 3lobed; corolla twice as long as calyx; female flower ovoid, to c. 3 mm or more long; calyx divided to middle, with 3 triangular lobes. Fruit slightly stalked, ovoid or oblong, to 17 mm×11 mm, covered with strawcoloured scales in 1921 longitudinal rows. Seed ovoid, 1011 mm×78 mm, slightly flattened; endosperm ruminate; embryo basal.
Growth and development
Seed of C. wailong germinates after 1525 days from sowing; after 1415 months the primary stem may exceed 1 m; after 56 years the stem may reach as long as 45 m.
Other botanical information
C. wailong is closely related to C. palustris Griff. and its variety amplissima Becc., as well as the poorly known Chinese species C. platyacanthus Warb. ex Becc. with the difference that C. wailong has a rather large and robust female inflorescence and its leaflets usually are solitary, rarely grouped in pairs on the rachis.
Ecology
C. wailong is found in the altitudinal range of 600900 m on slopes in montane rain forests where relative humidity is high all year round, with average annual temperature of 2021C, and tropical red loamy soils.
Agronomy
It is recommended to propagate C. wailong by seed. Fruits of C. wailong mature from November to December, so seed should be collected in time, and the pericarp and the fleshy seedcoat removed very soon after. It is best to sow seed in nursery beds. Seeds should first be sown on beds of river sand or rice bran and covered 11.5 cm with the same material, and kept moist throughout. In this way germination rates of 7585% can be obtained in 25 days after sowing. One year after germination, each seedling has 57 leaves. The seedlings are then transported to the planting field, either natural forest or forest plantation; the planting distance may be 4 m×5 m.
Once established, the seedlings require little attention apart from clearing the lines to allow light to reach the seedlings.
The canes are usually harvested in spring. Harvesting involves pulling the rattan down out of the canopy, and twisting the cane around a tree trunk to remove the leafsheaths. The cane, divested of its leafsheaths, is then bent and tied into bundles and transported to the village. This traditional method of harvesting and treating rattans damages the canes and reduces the cane quality. To prevent or minimize this deterioration, it is recommended that harvested canes be cut into 35 m lengths, tied into bundles containing 50100 sticks, and the bundles placed upright against the walls of houses to dry. Such bundles are easily transported by trucks.
Genetic resources and breeding
A collection of native rattan species has been established at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden since 1980, and this includes some plants of C. wailong .
Prospects
With the scarcity of the rattan resource and the huge marketing potential in China, native rattan species including C. wailong can be cultivated as a cash crop in mountain landuse systems of tropical China. Other species such as C. yunnanensis Pei & Chen and Plectocomia himalayana Griff. also have traditionally been cultivated in natural forests and swidden fields by some indigenous communities of Yunnan Province, China. It is suggested that local practices be incorporated into commercialscale rattan cultivation in the montane forests of tropical China, including cultivation in community forests, protected forest lands and agroforestry systems. C. wailong almost certainly also occurs in northern Thailand. It is one of the best quality species in the region.
Literature
- Chen, S.Y. & Yu, C., 1987. Rational exploitation of rattan resources and suggestions for development rattan production in Yunnan Province. In: Selected papers of rational exploitation and utilization of Yunnan's biological resources. Yunnan Science and Technology Press, China. pp. 329333.
- Pei, S.J., Chen, S.Y. & Tong, S.Q., 1989. New materials for Palmae from China. Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 27(2): 132146.
- Pei, S.J. & Chen, S.Y., 1990. The resolution of rattan resource crisis in Yunnan Province of China. Paper presented at SUAN V Symposium on RuralUrban Ecosystems Interactions in Development, Bandung, Indonesia, May 2124, 1990.
Authors
S.J. Pei & S.Y. Chen
