1947

6: Rattans

Calamus ornatus Blume

Rumphia 3: 58 (1847).

PALMAE

2n = unknown

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).

Calamus 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.).

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.

Massive clustering rattan, climbing to 50 m, dioecious. Stem without leaf-sheaths slightly angular, to 40 mm in diameter, with sheaths to 70 mm in diameter; nodes rather prominent, internodes to 30 cm. Leaves massive; leaf-sheath pale to dark green, armed to various degrees with narrow to large flattened triangular black spines with yellowish bases, 4 cm x 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 yellow-based spines in partial whorls; petiole linear, to 1 m x 4 cm, usually less; leaflets regular, 20—30 on each side, the lowermost 50 cm x 5 cm, the largest one in the middle, 80 cm x 8 cm, decreasing to small at the tip, 4 cm x 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 4—6 partial inflorescences to 80 cm, the female with robust reflexed rachillae, the male with more branched rachillae. Ripe fruit ellipsoid, 3 cm x 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 x 0.8 cm, rather angular with grooves on flattened lateral face, covered in sour sarcotesta; endosperm homogenous. Seedling-leaf bifid, shiny green.

Calamus ornatus is very distinctive, likely to be confused only with Calamus scipionum Lour. and Calamus peregrinus Furt. It can be distinguished from Calamus peregrinus by the much broader leaflets. It can only be distinguished from Calamus scipionum with ease in the climbing stage, when Calamus scipionum has large terminal leaflets (ecirrate) and Calamus ornatus has minute terminal leaflets (subcirrate). In inflorescence structure they are very different, and the seedling of Calamus 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 leaf-sheath armature, should be regarded as being the same as Calamus 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.

Calamus 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.

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 Calamus ornatus var. philippinensis by the Ecosystems Research & Development Bureau (ERDB).
Little care is needed once the seedlings are established, apart from occasional weeding. Calamus ornatus is apparently resistant to diseases and pests in the wild. The same harvesting and handling-after-harvest methods are used as for other large-diameter canes such as Calamus manan Miq.

Calamus ornatus has been planted in several botanic gardens and arboreta and in silvicultural trials.

As a clustering species with a large diameter, Calamus ornatus has reasonable prospects for cultivation on a commercial scale.

Beccari, O., 1893. Palmae. In: Hooker, J.D. (Editor): Flora of British India. Vol. 6. p. 460.
Beccari, O., 1908. Asiatic palms - Lepidocaryeae. 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. 201-203.
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): 49-58.
Furtado, C.X., 1956. Palmae Malesicae 19: the genus Calamus in the Malay Peninsula. Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 15: 32-265.
Johnson, D. (Editor), 1991. Palms for human needs in Asia. Balkema, Rotterdam & Brookfield. pp. 37-73.
Madulid, D.R., 1985. Philippine rattans with edible fruits. Rattan Information Centre Bulletin 4(2): 2-4.
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. 89-96.

J.P. Mogea

Mogea, J.P., 1993. Calamus ornatus Blume. In: Dransfield, J. and Manokaran, N. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 6: Rattans. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea